


Be there for me

by Intricate6



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alpha Lee Taeyong, Alpha Nakamoto Yuta, Alpha Seo Youngho | Johnny, Alpha Wong Yuk Hei | Lucas, Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Collars, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Omega Chittaphon Leechaiyapornkul | Ten, Omega Dong Si Cheng | WinWin, Omega Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung, Omega Kim Jungwoo (NCT), Omega Moon Taeil, Panic Attacks, Past Abuse, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Recovery, Touch-Starved
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-20
Updated: 2019-11-15
Packaged: 2019-11-26 05:51:34
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 11
Words: 27,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18176678
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Intricate6/pseuds/Intricate6
Summary: Jungwoo was living in a world where he was lesser, considered property. In a center since he presented as an omega, he doesn’t trust alphas. Now, an Alpha is taking him home and he doesn’t know what to think. Does he trust the stranger? Stay far away? Be the model omega?





	1. Chapter 1

He curled up further into the corner not wanting to face reality. Maybe if he just closed his eyes it would all just go away, in his mind he could pretend that he was somewhere else, that he wasn’t hurting, wasn’t feeling this way. Jungwoo just wanted to be at peace for once, he wanted to go back to the time when he was young and his parents still cared about him. He could practically feel his mom’s soft caress, his dad’s strong arms. When he was young, he thought that they were invincible. Apparently he had been wrong. They were just as susceptible to the vices of the world as anyone else. 

One of the handlers grabbed him by his arm and hauled him to his feet. Jungwoo’s shaky legs gave out from underneath him, but the handler just kept on walking, dragging his too-skinny body behind him until Jungwoo finally managed to regain his footing. Not that it mattered, the handler didn’t care if he had to drag Jungwoo or not; after all he was just a lowly omega, good for nothing.

 As they continued down the hall, the absence of scent made Jungwoo’s head fuzzy. You’d think that after all this time he would’ve gotten used to it, but it was as unsettling as ever. Omegas were naturally more perceptive to smells, they relied on them to know how their packmates were feeling, how to best help others, but, like everything else, the facility took that small comfort away from them. The omegas weren’t even allowed to see each other--every omega was kept by themselves in a tiny closed off room; Jungwoo had only ever caught glimpses of the others. That was a special kind of torture. They had no one to rely on, no one to bond with, no one to go to, no one to even smell. 

It was designed this way, it kept the omegas weak, susceptible, more likely to be passive with their alpha. Jungwoo had heard stories of omegas that were so touch and scent starved that they just let their alpha do whatever they wanted, even taking the mating bite on the first night. Others had gone crazy. Everyone had heard the horror stories of omegas ripping their hair out, screaming at all hours of the night, desperate for  _ something _ .

Jungwoo understood it, there were times that he had wanted to scream, cry, run away, do anything to relieve the stress that built up in his body day after day, but he didn’t, couldn’t. He just laid there, curled up into a little ball in his freezing cement cell waiting for it all to end. 

And this was it. They were turning down a hall Jungwoo had never seen before. Maybe they were finally going to end it all. There was no way an alpha would want him, he was too tall, too skinny. Omegas were supposed to be short, all soft and curves, but Jungwoo was the opposite and the handlers never let him forget it: 

“An alpha’s never going to want a freak like you.”

“I can’t even to stand to look at you, you’re so ugly.”

“If an alpha even ever gets you, it’ll be a big mean one, someone who can put you in your place.”

These statements were usually accentuated with a harsh kick to his ribs or a slap across the face. They weren’t supposed to leave marks on the omegas, but no one seemed to care about Jungwoo. He was worthless, no good, a horrible excuse for an omega. He had been in the facility for 4 years and no one ever let him forget it:

“An alpha could never love an omega like you,”

“Most omegas are gone within a year, especially with how young you are,”

“No one has even asked to see you in all this time,”

“You’re just going to die alone,”

“No one wants you, you’re worthless,”

They were right. He was a useless, good-for-nothing omega. Omegas were made to please alphas and he couldn’t even do that. His picture and description online hadn’t even been appealing to anyone. Not for four years. Jungwoo didn’t know what would be worse: the sterile, degrading facility, or an alpha who would beat him and use him. In the facility he would be led to a premature death, wasting away, slowly going crazy from the lack of scent, lack of touch, lack of communication. But, an alpha would make his life a living hell. He would have no freedom, would be forced to do whatever his alpha wanted. Either way he wouldn’t have a life worth living. Some days Jungwoo wondered why he even tried anymore, there was no point to it, he was going to have an awful life no matter what, so what was the purpose in living, in trying?

 

He was thrown into a room unceremoniously and was instantly struck by something he hadn’t experienced in four years: someone’s scent. More specifically, the scent of an alpha.

The alpha was standing in the center of the room, a confident and imposing figure. He was shorter than Jungwoo, but a lot more muscular. Everything about him screamed power.

When Jungwoo was thrown into the room, he was instantly completely and utterly overwhelmed. He had never properly smelled an alpha before, ever since presenting he had been in the center. Now, the man’s deep woodsy scent was invading his senses, making it impossible to think. Jungwoo couldn’t even stand up. He just sat on the floor where he had been thrown and looked up incredulously at the alpha. His mind was going a mile a minute and he couldn’t think. The man was saying something to the trainers, but Jungwoo couldn’t hear him. He was drowning, floating away somewhere in his head. His mind was high above his body, no longer on earth.

The next thing he knew, the alpha was helping him to his feet and leading him out the door and through the hallway. Jungwoo was too overwhelmed to even properly pay attention. His inner omega was trying to adjust to the sudden change, trying to catalogue what an alpha smelled like after being deprived of any sort of scent for years.

Then they were outside and Jungwoo was squinting against the sunlight, senses becoming even more muddled. He hadn’t seen the sun in years. He’d forgotten how bright it was, how much warmth it created.

There was also the sound of cars rushing by on the street. The smell of gas and trash and the millions of people who lived in the city. Birds were chirping, car horns were honking, people were talking, and it was all too much. Jungwoo’s body couldn’t handle all of the stimuli. He felt his brain begin to shut down.

He stumbled and the alpha steadied him, the touch of skin on skin surprising him, “Be careful there.” The alpha’s voice was deep and imposing. It reminded Jungwoo of all the horror stories he had heard from handlers. He was going to be hit, beaten up, used, broken. A small, pitiful whine forced its way out of his throat. 

The alpha suddenly stopped, looking at him intently, “Are you okay?”

He was in trouble. The alpha was looking straight at him, his gaze tearing him apart. Jungwoo had messed up and now he was in trouble. He shouldn’t have whined, should’ve just kept his mouth shut. Been quite like a good omega. Omegas were meant to be seen, not heard.

 Jungwoo dropped to the ground and curled up into a ball, bracing himself for the hits that would doubtless follow. But, no sharp pain followed. Instead, the alpha knelt by his side, speaking softly. “Hey, hey, it’s okay. I promise I’m not going to hurt you, you didn’t do anything wrong. My name is Lucas and I promise I will never hit you or anything. You’re safe now.” A calming scent surrounded Jungwoo, but he still didn’t move from his ball on the pavement. He had heard too many stories of alphas who broke their promises, goaded their omegas into trusting them just so they could break them all over again. No, Jungwoo wasn’t going to move from his protective ball. 

Lucas sighed, “It’s okay, I promise. I won’t hurt you. I just need you stand up for me, please?  It’s not safe for you to be laying down in the middle of the sidewalk and we’re almost to the car. You’ll be able to lay down in there.”

Jungwoo didn’t move. 

Lucas let out a heavy sigh. “Okay, I’m going to pick you up, alright? I promise I’m not going to hurt you or anything, but it’s cold outside and how much your shaking is scaring me. We really need to get you to the car.”

Jungwoo hadn’t even realized how cold he was until Lucas pointed it out. Now he was painfully aware of how every single bone in his body was freezing, how the cold wind cut through his thin clothing.

He let out a pained whimper, instinctively leaning into Lucas’s warm touch as the alpha easily lifted him up. 

“You’re so light, did they even feed you?” Lucas muttered to himself as he walked to his car, Jungwoo’s face buried in his chest. The poor omega seemed so overwhelmed and cold and tired that Lucas just wanted to wrap him up in a nest of blankets and make him feel as safe and as at home as possible; however, he knew that it was going to take a while for Jungwoo to adjust to his new life and even longer for him to trust anyone, especially an alpha. Johnny said it had taken a full week for Ten to even talk to him and another month before he let Johnny hug him. Granted, every omega was different, but Lucas was pretty sure it was going to take Jungwoo a while to come out of his shell. 

 

When they reached Lucas’s apartment, Jungwoo finally woke up from where he slumbered in the back seat. 

“Hey, let’s go inside, okay?” Lucas slowly opened the car door and motioned for Jungwoo to get out.

Jungwoo was confused. He didn’t know where he was or how he had gotten there. He was surrounded by colors and strange scents and he didn’t know what to do. There was that alpha motioning for him to get out of the car, but he didn’t want to. The car was safe. 

“Jungwoo, can you please come inside with me? It’s going to get cold out here.”

He didn't want to go. He really didn’t want to go, but the alpha wanted him to. He had to do what alphas said, otherwise he’d be punished. So, Jungwoo slowly climbed out of the car on shaky legs and followed Lucas into his apartment. 

The minute Jungwoo entered the doorway he was hit by a wall of smell, Lucas’s smell. The alpha’s scent permeated every object in the apartment, making Jungwoo’s eyes water uncontrollably. 

It wasn’t that Lucas smelled bad, Jungwoo actually quite enjoyed his deep, woodsy scent, but it was just  _ everywhere _ . Jungwoo could smell nothing else except for alpha and every part of his body was screaming at him in a cacophony of voices:  _ Submit _ ,  _ run _ ,  _ don’t move _ ,  _ scent him _ ,  _ stay far away _ ,  _ get closer _ .

It was all just too much. Too much was happening in one day; there was too much sensory input, too much change. Jungwoo’s body just couldn’t handle it anymore.

He dropped to the floor, body completely loose and pliant. 

 

Lucas cursed when he saw Jungwoo’s legs give out when they entered the apartment and he barely managed to catch the omega before he hit the ground. He should’ve seen this coming; he’d heard the horror stories of omegas becoming so overwhelmed after leaving the center that they passed out or withdrew so far into their heads that it was practically impossible to get them out, but he didn’t think it’d happen to him. But, here he was, holding an unconscious omega in his arms, not sure what to do next. He wasn’t prepared for this. He hadn’t expected Jungwoo to be so thin, so touch starved, so withdrawn. His friends’ warnings had done nothing to prepare him for the current situation on hand. 

He had to do something.

But what?

His original plan had been to show Jungwoo around his apartment and get him settled into his room before leaving him be for a little bit so he could get used to his new surroundings. However, Lucas hadn’t thought about how overwhelming the new experience and new smells would be for the poor, sensory deprived omega. 

Lucas groaned at his own stupidity and carried Jungwoo to the room the omega could call his own and laid his unconscious body down gently on the bed. Lucas then sprayed the whole room with scent neutralizers--something he should’ve done much earlier. He had stripped Jungwoo’s room of decorations and only had the necessary furniture adorning the space so that the omega could decorate his room however he wanted, but he had forgotten to descent it. Stupid.

Lucas groaned and ran his hand through his hair. He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Taeyong’s number. He would know what to do. He and his omega mate, Taeil, were like the parents of the group and they had coached everyone through all of their problems. If anyone were to know what to do, it would be those two.

Taeyong picked up on the second ring, “Hello?”

      “Oh thank goodness. So you know how I was going to the Omega Adoption Center today? Well, I may have come home with one. His name is Jungwoo, he’s 20 and had been there for four years already and I couldn’t just leave him there. He’s almost as tall as me and you know how omega stereotypes are—”

       “Lucas, you’re rambling. We can talk more about this later. What’s the problem?”

        “So I brought him home and he seemed really out of it, you know? Like overwhelmed and stuff like you said he’d be? And I may have forgotten to descent my apartment and he just like collapsed and now he’s unconscious on the bed and I don’t know what to do.”

      He heard Taeyong sigh from the other end and then Taeil’s clear voice was speaking to him, “First of all, I can’t believe you forgot to descent your apartment or at least one room, that is such a rookie mistake and we warned you so many times.”

      “I think he realizes that Taeil.” The rest of their conversation was muted, but when Taeil came back on the phone he was much calmer. “So basically Jungwoo’s body gave out on him because he felt unsafe and overwhelmed and for some reason omega biology likes to screw us over like this and—”

      “Taeil,”

      Lucas heard the omega take a deep breath to steady himself, “Sorry, yes, so this is what you have to do. Normally when an omega goes into a drop like this you would cuddle them and stuff so that they feel safe again and wake up, but since Jungwoo has been so sensory deprived for all of these years you definitely should not do that. So instead, try to wrap him up in as many scent neutral things as possible and kind of create a nest around him. Think like blankets and stuffed animals and stuff. It’ll probably take a while, but it’ll work.

      “Thank you so much Taeil! You’re a lifesaver!”

       “No problem, but I want to meet Jungwoo as soon as possible. Ten too. He needs the comfort of other omegas.”

       “I’ll text you!” and with that Lucas was hanging up the phone and running to find as many blankets and stuffed animals as he could, spraying them all with descenter before wrapping up Jungwoo as comfortably as possible. 

     Once he deemed his work satisfactory, Lucas left the room to sit on the nearby couch and wait for Jungwoo to wake up.

 

Jungwoo cracked his eyes open, surprised to be laying on a comfortable bed, cocooned in blankets. The room was devoid of decorations, just a plain bed and dresser. There was light streaming in through a window which overlooked the unfamiliar street outside. Jungwoo slowly sat up, still confused and disoriented. Where was he?

      Suddenly the events of yesterday came rushing back to him and Jungwoo scrambled out of the bed. He was so stupid. He’d probably angered his alpha yesterday with his little fainting episode. That would explain why he was all alone in a scentless room.

      He quickly made his way out of the room, quietly closing the door behind him. Lucas’s apartment was small, but nice. It all flowed together, so that you could see the family room, kitchen and doorway all at once. So, the minute Jungwoo exited his room, Lucas, who was cooking in the kitchen, spotted him.

      “Jungwoo! You’re finally up! Come have some breakfast!”

       Jungwoo nodded and slowly padded into the kitchen, cautious as ever. Lucas seemed to be in a good mood, but sometimes the handlers would mask their anger in smiles until you were close enough for them to pounce. 

       Jungwoo sat down at the kitchen counter at Lucas’s direction and looked down at the plate of eggs he was offered in surprise. Was this some sort of trick? The omega was supposed to cook for the alpha, not the other way around. But Lucas sat down in the seat next to his and started to shovel food in his mouth and motioned for Jungwoo to do the same. So, Jungwoo slowly picked up his fork and put a tiny bite in his mouth. It was good. He took another bite, then another. Soon, he was putting food into his mouth faster than he could properly chew and swallow, practically choking with every bite. It had been so long since he’d had a proper, warm meal and he was so hungry, he just couldn’t stop.

      Then, there was a hand on his, halting its progression up to his mouth. Jungwoo started to strain against the force preventing him from eating. He was hungry. He needed more. It was food. It was good. 

“Jungwoo.” He continued to fight against the hand restraining him. “Jungwoo, you need to slow down. You’re going to make yourself sick.

He finally snapped out of his stupor, flinching away violently from Lucas’s hand on his arm. He fell off of the chair in his hurry to get away from the alpha. He had just ignored Lucas, ignored an alpha. There was going to be hell to pay. 

Jungwoo continued to scramble backwards until his back hit the wall and he curled into a ball, trying to make himself a smaller target and protect his vitals. 

Lucas followed him, crouching down a couple feet away, holding his hands out in a non threatening way. “Hey, Jungwoo. It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you; I just wanted to make sure you didn’t make yourself sick. You were eating so fast you were starting to choke and that’s not good for you, yeah? I promise you can continue eating, just try to take it one bite at a time.”

Jungwoo was surprised. Lucas wasn’t mad? But he had disobeyed him, ignored him, been greedy. He’d been beaten for way less in the past, but this alpha was being passive, body relaxed, posture non threatening, trying his best not to assert dominance, to assure Jungwoo that everything was okay. It was strange. It went against everything that he had been taught, but Jungwoo somewhat foolishly unfolded himself from the wall and sat back down at the table, making sure to thoroughly chew his food before swallowing. Lucas sat down across from him and smiled approvingly.

A couple bites later, Jungwoo was full. “I’m sorry,” he muttered pushing the plate away, looking down at the countertop.

“Oh, no, it’s okay. You’ve been underfed for years, I didn’t expect you to finish it all.”

Jungwoo nodded, tracing patterns on the counter top, still not looking Lucas in the eye. He heard Lucas get up, gather the plates and start to put them away. Jungwoo didn’t move from his place on the chair. He felt cemented in place, butt glued to the fabric. He was scared,  confused, disoriented. He didn’t know what to do. Should he get up? Help Lucas? Go to his room? Start cleaning? Something else? He didn’t know.

Lucas finished with the dishes and turned around to face him, “Hey, is it okay if some of my friends come over? It would be a couple of alphas and their omega mates. I thought it would be good for you to hang out with other omegas, but if you don’t want to that’s totally fine.”

“No, uh, I think I’d like that,” Jungwoo’s voice was small and timid as he spoke, but Lucas’s face lit up at the words. 

“Great! I’ll go text them.”

Lucas ran off, presumably to grab his phone, leaving Jungwoo still sitting uncomfortably at the kitchen table. Jungwoo was still confused on what he was supposed to be doing, so he just quietly sat there, twisting his shirt in his hands. Lucas didn’t seem like the alphas they always talked about at the center; he acted as if he would never harm Jungwoo, but Jungwoo still didn’t fully trust him despite his seemingly kind intentions. Alphas were liars. Maybe Lucas was going to eventually turn on him, turn out crueler than his previous actions suggested. Jungwoo resolved to continue being careful, to be as well behaved as possible--especially when Lucas’s friends came over. He didn’t want to make a mistake and make someone mad. He would just have to be on his best behavior.


	2. Chapter 2

Lucas soon returned, phone in hand. “They’ll be over in like an hour,” he announced, looking incredibly proud of himself.

Jungwoo nodded quietly, shifting in his seat. It had been so long since he had seen other omegas. Would they like him? Think him weird? Had years in the center ruined him? Did he still know how to act? What if they hated him? What if they refused to cuddle with him, bond with him? Could he take that kind of rejection?

Jungwoo was so stuck in his head he didn’t notice Lucas approaching him and he almost fell out of his seat when the alpha put his hand on his shoulder. 

“Oh! Uh, sorry. I didn’t mean to sneak up on you. I just wanted to tell you that you shouldn’t worry about whether or not the others will like you or not, they’re all really nice. I’m sure you’ll fit right in.”

Jungwoo slowly nodded his head, collecting himself after the scare that he’d had. Of course Lucas thought that the omegas would always get along, alphas always did. They thought that all omegas were instantly best friends because of their biology. But Jungwoo knew that wasn’t always true. He’d heard many stories while in the center about omegas ganging up on the new one, bullying them, making them even more desperate for touch, for love until they slowly went insane. 

He couldn’t tell this to an alpha, though, so he stayed quiet and watched as Lucas began to clean up the dishes from breakfast. Wait, he was supposed to be doing the dishes. It was an omega’s job. Was this some sort of test? Was he failing? Was Lucas going to kick him out? He couldn't go back to the center, anywhere was better than that hellhole.

Jungwoo scrambled to his feet and headed into the kitchen as fast as his weak legs could carry him. “I’m sorry, I can do the dishes,” he muttered, head ducked, body braced for the blow that would inevitably follow. Hopefully Lucas would take it easy on him, he wasn’t sure his body could take a full strength blow from the muscular alpha.

“Oh!” Lucas turned around at Jungwoo’s words, causing the omega to try and make himself appear even smaller, “You don’t have to do the dishes, it’s fine. I’m done anyway.”

“But...it’s my job. I thought I was supposed to…” Jungwoo’s hands started to shake. He was so confused. At the center they were always told they’d have to clean the house, do the dishes, cater to their alpha’s every need without complaint, but here Lucas was, going against all of his training, saying he didn’t need to help out. It was confusing.

  
  


“No, oh, uh, please don’t cry.” Lucas flapped his arms around helplessly, looking like a lost bird. He started to get closer to Jungwoo, but stopped when the omega flinched away from him, curling up into a ball on the ground. “Um, you can help me do the dishes after dinner if you want?” He had absolutely no clue how to fix the situation, how to get Jungwoo to calm down. He backed up a little more. “I promise I’m not going to hurt you. It’s not a trick or anything. Oh, crap. What the hell am I supposed to do?”

Meanwhile, Jungwoo was trying his best to get his racing heart to calm down. Every part of his body screamed  _ submit  _ and  _ obey _ , and Jungwoo was terrified. This was all so much. So much stimulus. So much new stuff. He wasn’t sure what to do. Everything was whirling around him, spinning in his head and he couldn’t make heads or tails out of any of it. 

Then, a soft blanket was draped over Jungwoos shoulders and it smelled like  _ him _ . It was one one of the blankets from his room, one of the blankets he had scented, slept with last night. And it was lovely. It had been so long since he was covered in something soft, something that smelled like  _ him _ . 

Jungwoo felt his heart rate slowing down, and he slowly unfurled himself from his ball on the floor, cautiously looking around, eyes settling on Lucas sitting at the counter starting nervously at Jungwoo on the ground. When he noticed that Jungwoo was finally up, he let out a sigh of relief and his shoulders relaxed.

“Sorry,” Jungwoo muttered. Lucas was probably going to kick him out. No one wanted a broken omega. One that couldn’t even go through a full day without a break down.

“Oh, no, it’s okay. I’m sorry for scaring you like that.”

Jungwoo was shocked. An alpha was apologizing to him? This wasn’t supposed to happen; alphas were unapologetic, demanding, always right. Before Jungwoo had a chance to analyze Lucas’s response, the doorbell rang and the alpha was running to answer the door.

The door swung inwards to reveal four people standing at the threshold of the apartment. Two alpha-omega pairs. 

One comprised of a large alpha, with a small, lithe omega by his side. The other was an exquisite alpha paired with a motherly looking omega.

Jungwoo found himself whimpering when the smell of the other omegas wafted over to him. His inner omega was whining at the potential of skinship with others of his secondary gender. From the time he has presented he had never been able to hang out with, cuddle, or scent other omegas, having been instantly locked up from the moment that he presented, his parents leaping to obtain the money they would receive by turning him in so young.

So when he saw the other omegas, Jungwoo instantly found himself reaching out towards them, the danger of the new, strange alphas completely forgotten.

Within moments, the other two were by his side, hugging him, smothering him in their comforting scents. For the first time in years Jungwoo felt safe.

In their huddle they headed into the room where Jungwoo had slept the night prior and the other two omegas finally introduced themselves: “I’m Taeil and Taeyong’s my mate.”

Mate. He’d said mate. That implied a sense of equality, of trust. Both had to agree to the mating bond and it was not something to be taken lightly, in fact it was highly unusual nowadays. Jungwoo had just assumed that Lucas used the word “mate” as a figure of speech when referring to Taeyong and Taeil, but now he could see the bite that the other sported on his neck. 

The other omega simply introduced himself as “Ten. Johnny’s my alpha.” It was a wording that Jungwoo was more used to, but Taeil shot Ten a disapproving glare. Apparently he was not a fan. 

“So,” Ten started to distract Taeil from his attempt at telepathic communication, “Do you want to like take a bath and change clothes?”

“Oh my gosh!” Taeil exclaimed, “I can’t believe you’re stilling wearing those horrible scraps of cloth from the center. What was Lucas thinking? You must feel so uncomfortable.”

Jungwoo flinched at the aggressive way Taeil talked about an alpha, was he not worried about being punished? But, before he could ask the older about it, he was being led down the hallway and into the bathroom. 

In an instant Jungwoo found himself sitting in a large tub full of warm water. He instantly relaxed as the other two omegas climbed in on either side of him; it was a bit of a squeeze, but Jungwoo didn’t care. When he was younger he’d heards about how omegas were always calmed be each other’s presence, but he had never been able to experience that particular phenomenon until now. And it was amazing. He felt his muscles relax as Taeil rubbed the shampoo through his hair and Ten snuggled into his side.

 It had been years since Jungwoo was properly cleaned, had taken a bath. At the center they would just be power washed with a freezing cold hose while you were still in your cell twice a month. It served many purposes at once: cleaning the cells, cleaning the omegas, and punishing them. 

Jungwoo shuddered violently at the memory of the cold water knocking the air out of his chest, leaving him shivering on the ground, body aching. During the winter it would take him days to properly warm up, his fingers and toes blue. In the summertime, it felt like his cell would never properly dry, the humidity making the walls seem constantly wet.

He shivered at the horrible memory and Ten just hugged him tighter. “It’s okay, you’re safe now. You’re out of there. You're never going to go back, I promise.”

Jungwoo didn’t know how the older instinctively knew what he was thinking, but he took comfort in the words nonetheless. 

 

All too soon, they were draining the bath, Jungwoo stepping out of the tub, watching as the black water swirled down the drain. 

“I’m going to grab some clothes for you.” And with that Taeil was off, heading down the hallway to who knows where.

“So,” Ten started off, “You came from the center?”

“Yeah,” Jungwoo looked down at his feet.

“So did I. I was born in Thailand and we were here on a family vacation when I presented and was taken.” Jungwoo winced in sympathy. That was horrible timing. “The next few years were hell. In Thailand omegas aren’t property and there are no centers, you know? I mean we’re not equal, but it’s not like this.” he started to cry, “I haven't seen my family since I was taken. Johnny tried to find them, but at his point we’ve given up hope.”

Big tears of sympathy welled up on Jungwoo’s face and he wrapped his arms around Ten, comforting the smaller.

 At that moment Taeil came into the room with clothes in his arms, “I found some-oh.” The clothes dropped out of his hand and he joined the others in a group hug.

Eventually Ten pulled away, “Let’s move this back to Jungwoo’s room.”

Jungwoo liked that, his room. It went against everything he had ever been taught, but these were not the most conventional of omegas. When they had entered both Ten and Taeil had seemed relaxed with their respective alphas. Taeil even had a mating bite. 

Jungwoo pulled on the clothes that Taeil had found. They smelled like Lucas and hung off of his small frame, the right length, but way too baggy. At least they were soft and infinitely better than the rags he had been wearing before even if these did smell like alpha.

They walked down the hall together, Jungwoo ducking his head, trying to avoid the sight of the alphas sitting at the table. He failed. 

“Do the clothes fit, Jungwoo?” Lucas called out.

Jungwoo gripped the hands in each of his as tight as he could and frantically nodded his head, staring at the ground. Taeil shot Lucas a look over his shoulder and after that the alphas stayed blessedly quiet until they re-entered the room,  _ Jungwoo’s  _ room. 

“You should give him a chance, he’s really not that bad, a little awkward, a little big, but he has a heart of gold.”

Ten shot Taeil a look of disapproval and he promptly shut up. 

“Hey, Jungwoo, can you count to ten for me?”

He slowly nodded and began to choke out the numbers, “One...two...three…” his heart was racing, breathing erratic. He felt like he was trapped in his skin, he couldn't get out. “Four...five...six…” he forced himself to focus on the numbers, focus on Taeil’s and Ten’s touch. “Seven...eight...nine...ten…” 

“Good,” Ten soothed, rubbing his hand up and down Jungwoo’s back. “Anytime you feel like that could you do me a favor and try to count to ten?”

Jungwoo nodded, he felt a lot calmer. He had control over himself once more. He snuggled deeper into Taeil and Ten’s sides and breathed in the scent of omega that he had missed so much.

A little while later he looked up, “So, Taeil, what’s your story?”

The older smiled and ruffled Jungwoo’s hair, “It’s not like your’s and Ten’s. In fact, you two and Sicheng are the only omegas to come from a center. When I presented, my parents never sold me off, I just continued to go to school wearing scent blockers and stuff so on one would find out. It wasn’t illegal, but it was frowned upon. I got good grades, went to college, had a big moment when everyone found out I was an omega. Some people were dicks about it, but it’s college, you know? A lot of people were pretty accepting. Then, I met Taeyong and everyone else and the rest is history.”

“That’s nice,” Jungwoo muttered. He couldn’t imagine not being afraid of alphas, of being okay with his secondary gender. Taeil’s life seemed so peaceful in comparison to his and Ten’s. He was jealous. 

 

A few hours later, they were woken up by Johnny knocking on the doorframe, “Sorry guys, but we got to go.”

Jungwoo buried his head under Ten’s arm, trying to escape from the imposing alpha. Ten just sighed, and hugged Jungwoo goodbye, followed by Taeil.

“Call us if you need anything.” Taeil said on his way out the door.

Jungwoo nodded, watching them leave, not wanting to venture out of his room when there were so many alphas in the house, no matter what Taeil and Ten said. 

Then he heard the front door close. They were gone. He was once again alone with Lucas. Not that it was necessarily a bad thing, he just wished Ten and Taeil could stay with him forever. He really just didn’t like interacting with alphas, especially after he realized how nice and nonthreatening omegas were. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I got tickets for nct in Phoenix!!! I'm so excited! Also hmu if you're going to the Phoenix show too! I'm the girl with green hair (although it might be purple by then lol)
> 
> Also, please leave comments and kudos if you liked this!! My Instagram is @intricate_6 if you want to check me out or dm me about anything kpop related.


	3. Chapter 3

“So,” Lucas stood awkwardly outside of his room, “Did you like Ten and Taeil?”

“Yeah, they were really nice.” Jungwoo started to tear up. He hadn’t even realized everything that had been taken away from him at the shelter until now. It had just felt so comforting to cuddle and just be with other omegas, people who understood. Now he felt all alone, stuck with a scary alpha.

“Oh, uh, Jungwoo?” Lucas said tentatively, “Are you okay?”

Jungwoo didn’t respond, instead just burrowing his head further into his pillows.

Lucas wanted to go into the room and comfort Jungwoo, but Johnny had said that he should never go into Jungwoo’s room without an invitation, that he needed a space that was totally his, that he could feel safe in. So, instead Lucas stood awkwardly at the door. “Hey, do you want anything? I was planning to go out to get some stuff to decorate your room and some clothes, but we can shop online or do that another day if you want.”

Jungwoo shrugged into his pillow.

“Okay, um, let me know what you want to do.” Lucas headed away from the doorway and toward the couch in the living room where Jungwoo could easily find him if he so desired.

 

Jungwoo was conflicted. He didn’t want to leave, just wanted to stay curled up in a ball on the bed, but the alpha obviously wanted to go out with him and it was impolite to ignore an alpha’s wants. He might get punished for it later. He really didn’t want to get hit again.

But on the other hand, Ten and Taeil had said that he shouldn’t do anything he wasn’t comfortable with and that Lucas was different than the alphas he had been told about at the center. They had said that not all alphas were bad, not all alphas hit their omegas or bossed them around. Taeyong and Johnny didn’t. 

However, Lucas could be different. What if he was being fake to his friends? And he was so big, not as big as Johnny, but still, Jungwoo would never be able to defend himself against Lucas if he got angry. He didn’t want to be hit again, be beaten until he was laying on the ground, broken and sobbing. Just thinking about it made the memories well up out of where Jungwoo had tried to keep them locked away:

A knock was sounding on the cell door, loud and brassy, echoing throughout the small room; however, Jungwoo didn’t want to get up, didn’t want to greet the day like he was supposed to. He was tired, alone. All he wanted to do was stay curled up in a ball on the hard floor, letting the cold seep into his bones. Maybe that way he’d eventually become a statue, never have to deal with any of this ever again.

The door opened, slamming against the wall, “Let’s go omega,” the handler hissed.

Jungwoo didn’t move. He didn’t have the energy, it was just one of those days when your bones freeze up and your mind freezes up and everything seems like a monumental effort. Jungwoo just didn’t feel like moving, what was the point? Maybe it’d just be better if he died. That way he wouldn’t be a bother to anyone anymore. No one loved him; his own parents sold him off and no one was ever going to claim him as their own.

Suddenly the handler was in his face screaming, “Did you hear me you stupid omega? I was talking to you. You need to get up. We’re going somewhere.”

Jungwoo just buried his face in his arms. He was just too tired. Then, there was a hand in his hair and his head was being forced back and he found himself starting straight into the handler’s eyes. 

“I said get up,” the handler snarled, baring his teeth.

Then he was being lifted up by his hair and dragged through the hallways, not even bothering to try and get his feet underneath him. A door opened and he found himself being tossed to the ground, landing hard on his side.

“You need to be taught a lesson. Omegas obey, no matter what.” A kick landed on his side, another on his back. “I don’t care if you want to move or not. If someone tells you to move, you move.” His arms were wrenched behind his back as he was dragged to his feet in the awkward position. “No alpha is going to ever take this kind of disobedience from one of your kind, you’re lucky it’s me teaching you this lesson. I bet your alpha would fuck you until you couldn’t walk, maybe lock you up, drag you around like some sort of pet.” 

Each word was accentuated with another punch to his body. Jungwoo let his body go completely limp, but it didn’t seem to deter the handler like it usually did. “Even if it’s the slightest of suggestions, you do what your alpha wants. Do you understand?”

 A hand was now around Jungwoo’s throat, cutting off his air supply. Black spots were forming in his vision, he could feel his heart pounding in his head. All Jungwoo managed was a weak nod before he passed out. 

After that day Jungwoo always got up when the handlers told him to, no matter how tired he was, how much his body ached. He never wanted to go through that again.

 

_ He never wanted to go through that again _ . With that realization, Jungwoo slowly sat up, rubbing at his neck. He could still feel the ghost of the handler’s hands wrapping around his neck, squeezing tighter and tighter. With that thought chasing him, Jungwoo rolled out of his bed and stumbled to where Lucas was sitting on the couch. “I want to go shopping.”

Lucas looked surprised at his declaration, but slowly nodded, “Okay, I’ll grab my keys.”

Soon, Jungwoo found himself uncomfortably seeated in the passenger seat of Lucas’s car, awkwardly shifting against the leather seats, sitting on his hands. Music was playing over the radio, a song Jungwoo had never heard before, and Lucas was quietly focused on the road in front of him. It wasn’t something Jungwoo was used to: going out, seeing people, buying stuff; and he was nervous. His heart was pounding in his chest, palms sweating. 

Lucas, however, seemed completely oblivious to Jungwoo’s anxiety as he began to softly hum along to the song that was playing. “I think we’re going to get you clothes first, those are more important than decorations. That okay?”

Jungwoo quickly nodded in agreement. Even if he did care about where they went, he would never disagree with an alpha, that would be way too dangerous and completely not worth the beating he would receive. It was much easier just to go with the flow--he had learned that lesson very quickly at the center. You never disagreed, at least not if you valued your body intact. 

The store they pulled up to was huge and sprawling with many of the parking spots already full. Jungwoo slowly climbed out of the car and instantly winced at the bright light that shone in his eyes and the mixture of smells that overwhelmed his nose. It smelled of alphas, omegas, betas, fear, happiness, sadness, and so many other things Jungwoo couldn’t even identify them all. 

“You ready?” Lucas asked.

He wasn’t. Jungwoo just desperately wanted to go back to the apartment, to curl up in a ball underneath the covers and never go outside again. But, instead he just nodded and began to follow Lucas into the monster of a store that he was faced with.

Somehow the store’s interior was worse than its exterior. It was buzzing with people and full of so many colors and fabrics that Jungwoo didn’t know what to do with himself. Luckily, Lucas seemed to know exactly what he was doing and lead Jungwoo to a section with softer loungewear type clothes. 

“We’ll start with these? You seem to enjoy soft things?”

Jungwoo nodded, eyes glued to the pattern on the tile floor, trying not to look anyone in the eye.

“Okay then, go ahead. Pick some things out.”

Jungwoo didn’t move. His feet were glued to the floor. He didn’t know what Lucas liked, what Lucas wanted him to wear, why didn’t the alpha pick out the clothes himself? That’s the way it was supposed to be. Yet, Lucas gestured for him to go pick out some clothes and by some miracle Jungwoo’s legs began to work.

He slowly made his way through the racks, keeping his eyes downcast, just brushing his hand across the fabric, finding whatever was most comfortable.

Lucas praised the two shirts and pants that he managed to pick out, calling them “very cute” and “soft”. The compliments almost made Jungwoo smile, but then he remembered where he was: in public, and the smile instantly melted away. 

“Okay, let’s get you some clothes that you can wear out and stuff, yeah?”

Jungwoo just nodded, having no clue how he was going to pick these out. 

By some miracle, Lucas decided to help Jungwoo by pointing out what he thought would be cute, much more excited about picking out clothes than Jungwoo was: “Oo, that sweater would be so cute with those torn jeans and with that jacket. You just have to get that.”

Of course Jungwoo did, mutely following Lucas around as the pile of clothes on his arms slowly got higher and harder to carry.

When turning a corner, Jungwoo tripped, almost spilling all of the clothes out of his arms. Lucas was by his side in a flash, reaching out to help Jungwoo with his load, but Jungwoo mistook his outstretched arm as an attempt to hit him and frantically stumbled backwards, crumpling against a wall, clothes strewn around him.

_ This is it. He’s going to get mad. He’s going to hit me, drag me out of here, discipline me _ . Jungwoo was a shaking mess curled up in the corner, whimpering whenever Lucas tried to get closer to help him. 

“Hey, Jungwoo. It’s okay. I’m not mad, you’re not in trouble. I should have been more careful I’m sorry.”

His words only made Jungwoo stiffen even further. Alphas weren’t supposed to apologize. This was a trap.

“Jungwoo, can you please get back up? I promise it’s going to be okay.”

It was  _ not  _ going to be okay, but Jungwoo couldn’t risk disobeying his alpha and getting into even more trouble, so he shakily climbed to his feet and helped Lucas gather the clothes that had fallen. 

“We’re just going to try on these clothes then we can leave, okay? We’ll save decorations for another day.”

He had angered Lucas, he wanted to get home so he could yell at Jungwoo in private, some alphas didn’t like disciplining their omegas in public places. But then again, Jungwoo desperately wanted out of the store, away from all the people, all of the colors, all of the smells. So, he slowly trailed behind Lucas at a safe distance, heading towards the dressing rooms. 

Once they got inside, Lucas hung up all of the clothes in one of the small rooms and then headed back out. “I’ll be right here on the bench, okay? You can show me every outfit if you want.”

Jungwoo nodded his understanding and started to get changed into the first thing he had picked out. Every time he ventured out of the room, Lucas complimented every outfit and asked if Jungwoo liked it. 

Upon seeing his last outfit, Lucas instantly perked up. “I know exactly what would go with that! You can change back into your clothes, then wait for me here. I’ll just be a second.” And with that Lucas sprinted off to somewhere in the store, looking like a little kid who was just told they could pick out whatever candy they wanted.

Jungwoo let a small smile grace his face at the sight, then quickly got dressed back into the clothes he had arrived to the store wearing. When he exited the dressing area, Lucas was still not back so he decided to lean against the wall right outside the entrance while waiting for him to arrive. 

A few minutes later the smell of alpha filled his nose, the scent tinted with dominance. Jungwoo glanced up to find himself face to face with an alpha, shoving his nose into his neck. He was paralyzed with fear, unable to move. The alpha was so close, so imposing, he could do anything and Jungwoo would be helpless. 

“You smell so sweet,” the strange alpha drawled, “and I don’t see a mating mark, or a collar. Do you have an alpha little one?”

Jungwoo frantically nodded, pressing his body as close to the wall as possible.

“Well he obviously doesn’t care about you just leave you out in the open like this, all alone. You should come with me.”

Jungwoo didn’t move.

“Let me rephrase that,  **come with me** .”

Of their own volition, Jungwoo’s legs started to move, following the alpha. He was terrified. An alpha command had never been used on him before and he felt so helpless. He couldn’t control his own body, he felt trapped. 

“Get away from my omega,” a voice snarled and suddenly Lucas was hurtling himself at the alpha in front of Jungwoo, dropping a pair of ankle high boots on his way. 

Jungwoo felt the command lose control over him and he instantly curled up into a ball on the floor of the store, the sound of alphas fighting filling his ears. 

Soon, the snarling stopped and a familiar voice was speaking to Jungwoo: “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I left you all alone and I completely forgot to get you a collar. I’m so sorry Jungwoo.”

Jungwoo didn’t move, he could still feel the alpha’s nose on his neck, his slimy finger tracing his arm. That could’ve been it. He was under the control of an alpha command, he had no control over his body. 

“Jungwoo, please. Can you hear me? It’s safe now. You can get up, no one will hurt you.”

But Jungwoo was stuck in his own mind and the last thing on his mind was uncurling from his ball of safety. No one could stare at him when he was like this, he didn’t have to face the world, it was the most protective if someone started to hit and kick at him.

“Jungwoo,” Lucas’s voice sounded desperate, but he still didn’t move. 

“Oh my gosh, is he okay? I could smell an omega in distress from all the way across the store and I got here as fast as I could.” A new voice entered the fray, an omega.

Lucas angled his body to protect Jungwoo from the perceived threat that the stranger brought, but eased up at his next words.

“Hey, I’m not going to try anything. My name is Doyoung, I’m an omega and I just want to help.”

“Okay,” Lucas sighed, “if you can help then, please, go ahead.” 

Doyoung instantly crouched by Jungwoo’s side and released as many comforting pheromones as he could, trying to get the younger to relax. Slowly, Jungwoo released his tight grasp on his knees and Doyoung wrapped him in a hug, whispering softly in his ear. Ever so slowly, Jungwoo began to calm down and soon was sitting up, Doyoung holding him tightly.

“Are you okay?” Lucas asked. “I’m so sorry that I left you behind, I shouldn’t have done that.”

Jungwoo, just nodded and averted his eyes. 

“I’ll walk with you guys to the car?” Doyoung questioned.

“Yes, please,” Lucas said. 

The small group started to head towards the exit, Lucas paying for the clothes on his way out. The entire way Jungwoo looked like a zombie, walking haltingly, heavily leaning on Doyoung for support. 

Lucas felt awful. How naive was he to leave the poor omega all on his own? Even Doyoung had a collar around his neck.

Once in the car, Jungwoo collapsed into an unresponsive, boneless heap. 

“Thanks for your help.” Lucas ran a hand through his hair.

“No problem, here, take my number in case you ever need it. When you get home he’s going to need a lot of care and support, okay?”

Lucas nodded and then Doyoung was disappearing around a corner, leaving Lucas and Jungwoo alone.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long, I started new meds and they make me really tired so I basically just sleep and go to school and have time for nothing else. Also, I wrote this in one sitting and it's unedited, so please tell me of there are any mistakes.
> 
> Please leave comments, I absolutely love reading them!


	4. Chapter 4

The ride back home was silent. Jungwoo didn’t say a single word and Lucas didn’t know what to say to comfort him. 

“So, uh, we can look for decorations online if you want?”

Jungwoo didn’t respond, instead curling up even tighter into a ball while seated in the back seat. He didn’t have a seatbelt on, had screamed in terror when Doyoung tried to wrap the device around him, the fabric feeling too restraining. Instead, Jungwoo curled up as tightly as he could on the floor of the car. Doyoung had simply shrugged in response, “Drive carefully, I guess.”

And that’s exactly what Lucas was doing, driving like a grandma, not going on the freeway, taking all of the backroads and side streets that he could. He was not going to risk Jungwoo with his crazy driving. Not ever. He just wanted to wrap the omega up to keep him safe from all of the dangers and mean people in the world. Jungwoo was too nice, too sweet, too pure to have to deal with crazy stuff like that. 

A while later Lucas finally pulled into his parking spot at the apartment complex. With his slow driving the drive had taken twice as long as normal, but Lucas didn’t care. Jungwoo was more important than a needless desire to get home quickly. The entire ride Lucas played soft instrumental music instead of his usual rap in an effort to calm down the omega. Jungwoo was so scared his sour scent was filling the entire car causing Lucas to have to roll down the windows to resist his instinct to protect the scared omega. Such an action would doubtlessly cause more harm than good with the state Jungwoo was in; an overbearing alpha would be entirely too much for him to handle. 

Lucas gently opened the car door, the cool metal resting against his fingers. Jungwoo didn’t even look up, just stayed curled into a ball on the floor of the car. His whole body was shaking and it looked as if he was crying, but it was hard to tell with the way his face was buried in his knees. 

“Hey Jungwoo, do you want to get out of the car? You’ll be safer in the apartment.”

Jungwoo showed no signs of responding.

Lucas heaved a sigh and pressed a little further into the car, thighs hitting the edge of seat with his feet still firmly planted on the asphalt. “Jungwoo, I promise it’s okay. It’s safe here. I would never let anything happen to you.”

Jungwoo didn’t move a single muscle.

Lucas shifted so he was awkwardly kneeling on the seat, half in and half out of the car. “I promise you’ll be safer in the apartment. I can even carry you there if you want. It’s not a far walk at all.” He started to let his alpha pheromones become more prominent, hoping that it would cause the omega in Jungwoo to relax and trust him enough that he could just get Jungwoo out of the car and to some place more comfortable. However, his effort ended up having the opposite of the desired effect. Instead of relaxing, Jungwoo whimpered pitifully and scooted all the way to the opposite side of the car, getting as far away from Lucas as possible.

Lucas instantly stopped releasing pheromones, but Jungwoo didn’t relax in the slightest. 

With a soft curse Lucas fished around in his pocket before his fingers finally closed on the smooth surface of his phone. He dragged the device out of his pocket and scrolled through his contacts before clicking on Johnny’s. Luckily, the older answered on the second ring: “Hey, wassup Lucas?”

“Johnny I need your help. We went to the store but this creepy guy attacked Jungwoo and he got scared and we’re back home but now he won’t get out of the car and I can’t get near him. He’s so scared and I don’t know what to do, he’s not even talking to me.”

“Okay, uhh,” Johnny called for Ten and they had a brief conversation before he answered again, “Just hang tight we’ll be there in like 10 minutes.”

“Johnny, hurry up! Shoes are not important right now, let’s go!” Ten screamed in the background, “Don’t worry Lucas, we’ll be there as quick as possible.”

There was a scuffling sound on the other side of the phone before Johnny’s voice spoke through the receiver, “I have to hang up now, but just hang tight we will be there soon.”

Lucas let out a sigh at the sound of the call clicking to an end. Help was on its way, he just needed to wait for a couple more minutes. Lucas glanced over at Jungwoo who was still curled up in a ball in the corner. He was definitely crying now, his whole body shaking from the force of his sobs. A small whine tore its way out of Jungwoo’s throat and Lucas’s heart absolutely broke at the noise. All he wanted to do was comfort the poor omega in distress, but he couldn’t. He couldn’t risk accidentally making something worse. Instead he just had to stand there waiting for Johnny and Ten to arrive and hope that Ten could somehow help Jungwoo, or at least get him into the apartment. 

Not even 7 minutes later a car haphazardly swung into the parking lot and Ten tumbled out of the passenger door before it was even fully parked. Johnny was calmer in exiting the car, but Lucas noted how he had two different shoes on. “Jesus Christ,” the older sighed, running a hand through his hair, “how we didn’t hit someone or get pulled over is beyond me. Ten was screaming ‘faster’ the entire time I was driving. I think I was going like 20 over the speed limit at some point.”

Lucas let out a low chuckle at that, Ten certainly could be a slave driver sometimes when he really wanted something. 

The alphas then turned their attention to Lucas’s car where Ten was standing at the car door, gently speaking in a low voice, trying to make his scent as comforting and soothing as possible.

Johnny clapped a hand on Lucas’s back, “It’ll be okay man, Ten will help him, we’ll get him to calm down.”

Lucas sure hoped so, it hurt to see Jungwoo this way: so frightened, terrified, curled up, shaking, not moving.

\----------------------------------------------

_ There was an alpha. An alpha. Alphas were mean, scary. Stay far away.  _

Jungwoo couldn’t control his thoughts, they were running rampant without him ever since the man cornered him in the store. He couldn’t focus his mind, his whole body was just screaming in terror and he wanted to get as far away from the alpha in the car as possible, but he couldn’t leave the safety that the shelter of the car provided. He just needed everyone to get away. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this. It was all too much.

When Lucas opened up the car door, the rational part of Jungwoo realized that he should go with him, would be safer in the apartment even if Lucas was also in it. However, instinct took over the instant the smell of an alpha wafted into his nose and Jungwoo found himself paralysed with terror. He couldn’t move. Alphas were bad. Alphas hurt omegas. He needed to hide, he needed to get away.

Then, Lucas had stepped into the car and all Jungwoo saw was white-hot fear. He scrambled as far away from the alpha as possible, cries of fear forcing their way out of his throat. Even after the alpha backed off, Jungwoo couldn’t stop crying. Images of that alpha man attacking him, cornering him in the store played through his head in an endless loop. God, he was so scared. 

All he could think was that the handlers were right: alphas were mean, they took advantage of omegas. He should’ve listened to them, not let his expectations be raised by the words of Ten and Taeil. Alphas were bad.

The squealing of wheels on pavement interrupted Jungwoo’s thoughts, the sudden sound causing him to flinch in surprise. Moments later, Ten’s sweet, calming scent was filling his nostrils and the sound of his soft voice reached his ears. “Hey Jungwoo, is it okay if I come in? I promise I won’t let anyone else near you.”

Jungwoo hesitated, he could still smell the deep scents of the alphas standing close by. All of his instincts were screaming  _ danger  _ at their smell, but  _ safe  _ at Ten’s scent. Eventually Jungwoo nodded shakily, his desire for comfort greater than his fear of the nearby alphas. 

Ten crawled onto the seat, still on the opposite side of the car from Jungwoo. “Is it okay if I close the car door? Will you feel safer that way?”

That decision was much easier. Jungwoo quickly nodded in response, with the door closed there would be a barrier between him and the alphas, he wouldn’t have to smell them as much.

The door slammed shut, making the car shake slightly and Ten crawled across the seat to be even closer to Jungwoo. “Is it okay if I touch you?”

“Please,” Jungwoo croaked out, lifting up his head. He wanted, no  _ needed _ , a hug, to be comforted.

Slowly Ten’s arms wrapped around his body and Jungwoo leaned into the touch, burying his head in his friend’s shoulder before breaking out into tears, the force of his sobs shook his whole body and tears quickly soaked Ten’s shirt, but the older didn’t seem to care. He just held Jungwoo tighter, whispering gently into his ear. 

A while later, Jungwoo’s sobs started to die out, his body too tired to support such a display of emotion.

“Oh, Jungwoo,” Ten murmured, stroking his hand through the younger’s hair, “Are you feeling a little better?”

Jungwoo nodded and curled up in Ten’s lap, letting his eyes drift closed.

Ten, gently patted his shoulder, “You can’t fall asleep right here, how ‘bout we go inside?”

Jungwoo was too tired, his brain feeling slow and soft. He just softly nodded to Ten’s suggestion, forgetting in his exhaustion that outside was Bad and that the alphas were out there. He was only thinking of soft, and cuddles, and being comfortable. 

 

Ten opened up the car door, and wrapped his arms around Jungwoo as much as possible before leading the taller out of the car. Once outside, Jungwoo whimpered and buried his head into Ten’s shoulder, drawing the attention of the alphas. When Lucas took a step towards Jungwoo, Ten quickly shook his head, trying to communicate that they should stay far away. Luckily, Johnny understood the gesture as he grabbed Lucas’s arm, preventing him from taking another step. 

Ten decided to ignore whatever the alphas were doing and just focus on getting Jungwoo inside. The other omega looked sleepy and slightly out of it, but fear was still coming off of him in waves and Ten was afraid of another drop.

Lucas had said that Jungwoo had an omega drop when he came home from the center and having too many drops too quickly was quite dangerous for omegas as it trained their bodies to react that way whenever there was any outside stressor, usually resulting in unsafe situations. 

“Hey Jungwoo, stay with me alright?” Ten whispered.

“‘M right here,” Jungwoo slurred in response, eyes starting to drift closed. The whole world seemed to be moving slower as if he was swimming through syrup and Jungwoo just wanted to go to sleep. Why had he ever been afraid? There was no danger just soft and warm and arms wrapped around him, leading him to wherever they were going. 

Jungwoo’s weight slumped against Ten, becoming even heavier. Ten was suddenly glad for his training as a dancer making is arms and core strong enough to support Jungwoo’s almost dead weight on his shoulders. 

As soon as they entered the elevator, Ten leaned against the railing, letting the wall take the majority of Jungwoo’s weight.

 He heaved out a sigh of relief when the elevator finally opened its doors, they were almost there. By some miracle, the alphas had managed to beat them up, so the door was already open and all Ten had to do was lead Jungwoo to his room before they both collapsed on the bed.

Ten shifted on the bed so that he could be in a more comfortable position, but the movement made Jungwoo cry out, “No, please don’t leave me. I can’t.” Tears began to softly stream down his cheeks.

“Don’t worry, I’m never going to leave you. I’ll be right here when you wake up,” Ten whispered into Jungwoo’s ear and wrapped the taller in a big hug before they both drifted off to sleep.

\-----------------------------------------------------------

When Jungwoo had exited the car with Ten, every instinct in Lucas’s body was screaming at him to help the omega in distress. He needed to protect, help. An omega was scared and he needed to fix it. However, Johnny had grabbed his arm, snapping him back into reality. He couldn’t help Jungwoo right now, he would make things worse, not better. Instead Lucas was forced to watch as Ten helped Jungwoo into the building, the younger looking like death reincarnate. His eyes were red and puffy, body looked devoid of any energy or liveliness. It broke his heart to see Jungwoo like this. 

No matter how many times Johnny told him that it would be okay, that Ten was terrified to go out at first, clung to Taeil as if he was security blanket, Lucas still worried that Jungwoo would end up hating him, would rather live with someone else. The idea broke his heart.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the late update, life has been kicking my butt lately. Also, this is unedited because I may have stayed up for BTS's comeback...oops. 
> 
> Please leave comments and kudos, your comments absolutely make my day!!


	5. Chapter 5

Jungwoo cracked his eyes open, feeling like death reincarnate. His whole body was heavy and exhausted, his head was pounding, and his eyes felt gritty. Ten was already awake beside him and smiled when he noticed the other omega had woken up.

“Feeling better?”

Jungwoo just shrugged in response. He still felt a little shaky and weird, but maybe he was ready to face the alphas? He just wasn’t quite sure.

Ten must have noticed the conflicted look on his face because the next thing Jungwoo knew, the older was wrapping him in a big hug and whispering reassurances into his ear. “Hey, everything will be okay, yeah? You don’t have to do anything you’re not comfortable with. You’re safe here.”

Jungwoo took a deep, shaky breath and slowly nodded into Ten’s warm chest. “I think...I think I want to go out. To, uh, eat breakfast and stuff.” Jungwoo’s voice was soft and timid and the very sound of it made Ten smile fondly.

“Okay, let’s do that then.” Ten gently grabbed Jungwoo’s hand, soft and timid in his hold, ad the pair made their way to the kitchen where the alphas were sitting at the table, talking. As soon as the omegas entered; however, all conversation ceased. Lucas’s head instantly whipped around to take in Jungwoo who was standing demurely at the edge of the hallway, hand firmly in Ten’s.

At the sight, Lucas felt his heart melt a little and he just wanted to go over to Jungwoo and wrap him up in a big hug and never let him go. However, Johnny’s firm hand on his wrist reminded Lucas that such an action would doubtlessly frighten the omega, something he was trying to avoid. So instead, Lucas slowly got up, and walked around the counter into the kitchen. “What do you guys want for breakfast?”

“I’ll just have some cereal,” Ten answered.

“Me too,” Jungwoo muttered, eyes focused on the ground in front of him.

The pair slowly made their way to the table, Johnny moving out of their way and into the kitchen with Lucas as to not frighten Jungwoo who was already looking very uncomfortable sitting at the table when there were alphas in the kitchen making food for him. Lucas remembered the first day when Jungwoo had wanted to wash the dishes and was surprised when Lucas insisted that he do it himself. The omega clearly wasn’t used to alphas doing household chores and it angered Lucas. What kind of messed up dynamics were taught in those centers? It was so archaic to believe that omegas should be the housewives while alphas were the over-demanding breadwinners.

In his annoyance, Lucas didn’t even notice that the milk was completely missing the bowl of cereal until Johnny gently took the jug out of his hands. “Calm down, you might scare Jungwoo,” the taller softly whispered into Lucas’s ear, prompting Lucas to look across the kitchen to where Jungwoo was sitting, curled up in his chair, Ten gently rubbing his back and reassuring him that the alphas would never hurt him.

The sight made Lucas’s heart clench and he instantly regretted letting himself get upset and therefore scaring Jungwoo. 

When Lucas set the bowl of cereal down in front of Jungwoo, the smaller began to speak, fidgeting with the table cloth as he did so, “I-I’m sorry for the way I behaved yesterday. That was out of line and I completely understand if you want to punish me or get rid of me. I deserve it.”

All Lucas could do was stare down at Jungwoo in shock. After he had finished talking, the younger had bowed his head and flinched, almost as if he was expecting to be hit.

“Jungwoo,” Lucas started, it’s okay. I promise. You did nothing wrong. You can’t control your panic and I don’t expect you to. In fact it should be me apologizing for bringing you to the store when you weren’t ready and then leaving you all alone.”

Jungwoo’s head snapped up in surprise at Lucas’s words. The fact that an alpha was apologizing to him, a lowly omega, was baffling. Alpha’s didn’t apologize. Especially not to omegas. Alphas were supposed to be unforgiving, commanding, they just took and took and never felt aything for anyone else. It was an omega’s job to please the alpha, not the other way around; at least that’s what Jungwoo had been told at the center. But, then again, Jungwoo was slowly starting to realize that maybe the center was wrong, maybe not all alphas were terrible.

Ten gently squeezed his hand, the pressure making Jungwoo realize that he was still sitting there, frozen, trying to mull Lucas’s words over. With a quick shake of his head, Jungwoo snapped back to reality and began to spoon some of the cereal into his mouth. As soon as the crunchy substance hit Jungwoo’s tongue he recoiled at the overly sweet flavor. It had been so long since he’d eaten anything with real taste that the sugary cereal was a shock to his system.

Ten noticed his reaction and laughed, “Yeah, Lucas likes really sweet and sugary cereal, part of the reason why I asked for it. Johnny never buys the good stuff.”

“I could if you would just come with me so you could tell me what you want,” a deep voice resounded from the kitchen, causing Ten to wrinkle his nose in disgust, “Ew, going out.”

Johnny just rolled his eyes as if he was used to Ten’s reluctance to interact with the world. However, Jungwoo found himself agreeing with Ten, he never wanted to leave the apartment again if he had the choice. Outside was scary. Outside was where bad things happened.

Slowly Jungwoo began to curl up on himself, thinking about what had occurred at the store the day before. No, he definitely didn’t want to go outside ever again. 

Jungwoo hadn’t noticed that he was hyperventilating until Ten was whispering into his ear, reminding him to breathe, rubbing soothing circles on his back. Eventually, Jungwoo regained control of his breathing and was able to uncurl from the ball he had shriveled up into. 

Lucas and Johnny were still awkwardly standing in the kitchen, Lucas looking like he wanted to run over and help Jungwoo, but knew it was a bad idea, so he just stood there worriedly stared at Jungwoo while tightly grasping an empty glass in his hand. He knew that joining the omegas would just make Jungwoo’s state worse, but his instincts screamed at him to do just that.

When Jungwoo uncurled from his ball, Lucas was finally able to relax knowing that Jungwoo was okay. 

Johnny clapped Lucas on the shoulder as they watched the two omegas, “It’s hard isn’t it? Just watching? I remember in the beginning all I wanted to do was run to Ten and wrap him up and protect him, but we can’t. We just have to watch and wait. But don’t worry, you’re a good guy Jungwoo will warm up to you eventually, just give him time, yeah?”

“Yeah,” Lucas muttered in response. He knew Johnny was right, but it still hurt to have the rules be so plainly laid out in front of him with no sugar coating. All he wanted to do was go to Jungwoo and hug the smaller, keep all of the bad guys away from him, but such an action would doubtlessly incite panic from the omega. 

“Hey,” Johnny suddenly said, “have you brought Jungwoo to the doctor yet? He should probably get checked out to make sure he’s okay and all.”

“Oh,” the past few days had been so chaotic Lucas hadn’t even thought about that. His priorities were all in the wrong places, he was trying to make Jungwoo feel comfortable and adapt to him instead of first going to the doctor to get him checked out. “Yeah I should do that. I’ll call Kun and see when his next opening is.”

With that statement, Lucas picked up the phone and dialed his friend’s office number. Kun picked up on the first ring, and Lucas quickly scheduled an appointment for Jungwoo the next day at 10:00, promising to keep Kun updated if for some reason Jungwoo couldn’t make it or didn’t want to leave the house.

“If its too much of a problem I could always do a home call so he doesn’t have to come in.”

“We’ll see, I want to at least try first, but that might end up being the case.”

When Lucas finished his call, he looked up and found that Jungwoo and Ten were no longer sitting at the table, but instead at the sink washing the dishes. At the sight, Lucas held back a sigh. Jungwoo really didn’t need to do all of the chores like he thought he did. Lucas didn’t want him getting the idea that his job was to help out around the house and be the model omega that the center wanted him to be. But, Lucas didn’t comment on it, not wanting to frighten or confuse the poor omega. That would be a fight for another day.

“So,” Ten said, speaking a tad louder than usual, “I heard that you made a doctor’s appointment for Jungwoo tomorrow?”

“Uh, yeah, at Kun’s. He’s really nice Jungwoo, so you don’t have to worry.”

“D-does that mean going outside?” Jungwoo looked frightened at the prospect, eyes wide with fear.

“I mean yeah, but just to the office and the waiting room. It won’t be bad at all.” Lucas said reassuringly, but Jungwoo frantically shook his head in response.

“No, no. No outside. I can't-” he promptly burst into tears. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry. Please no. I can’t, I just can’t.”

“Hey,” Lucas rushed to his side, but Jungwoo violently flinched away from him, hitting his hip on the counter in the process. Lucas instantly backed up to give Jungwoo some more space. “Hey, Jungwoo, it’s okay. We don’t have to go outside if you don’t want to. Kun can just come here. It’ll be okay.”

But Jungwoo didn’t respond, just curled up even smaller whispering “please, please, please,” to himself. Ten knelt down next to Jungwoo and careful not to touch him, whispered soft reassurances that everything was going to be okay and that Lucas wasn’t going to make him go outside if he didn’t want to.

Suddenly, Jungwoo scrambled to his feet and bowed his head in Lucas’s direction, “I’m so sorry for misbehaving, please forgive me. I promise I won’t do it again.”

“Jungwoo, Jungwoo, it’s okay. I promise.  I’m not angry I’m not going to hit you. It’s okay.”

Jungwoo slowly nodded, still refusing to meet Lucas’s eyes. Ten gently grabbed the younger’s arm, “Let's go to your room, yeah?” and the pair slowly made their way down the hallway.

Once they were gone, Lucas sighed and slumped down on the couch with Johnny. “It's so hard,” he muttered, running a hand through his hair, “I don’t know what to do. I feel so useless, like I just can’t help him.”

“We just do whatever we can,” Johnny replied, “and I mean I managed not to screw things up with Ten, so believe me, just be patient and kind and everything will be okay in the end.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NCT concert is tonight!! I’m so excited! If you’re going look for the girl with the faded green hair lol.
> 
> Also, I’m really sorry for the late update, but things have been really chaotic with school and stuff and I’m afraid I can’t promise there will be another update until like May 23 when school is out. APs start next week and finals are ongoing and I just don’t have time to write right now :(
> 
> I hope you all are having good days and feel free to leave comments!! I love feedback!!


	6. Chapter 6

The time had come for Johnny and Ten to head home. However, when Johnny made the announcement that he had work that needed to get done at home, Ten instantly started whining, “Can’t I stay? Please? Jungwoo needs me,”

Johnny just heaved a sigh at Ten’s response and looked around as if he couldn’t believe how difficult the smaller was being. “No Ten, we both have to go home. You can’t stay with Jungwoo forever and Lucas has things to do that don’t involve babysitting you.”

“It’s not babysitting me,” Ten muttered starting to gather his things--which was pretty much just his shoes with how urgently they had rushed over yesterday. 

Johnny just turned to look at Lucas as if to say ‘do you see what I have to deal with?’

“I have an idea. What if I stayed here and Lucas could go with you to get work done so I’m not being babysat? It’s the best of both worlds.”

“Ten,” there was a dangerous tone in Johnny’s voice that made Ten instantly give up his argument and head to the door. 

“Or we could go, either works,” Ten muttered.

Jungwoo quietly watched the whole exchange from where he was sitting at the table. He was terrified when Ten first started arguing with the alpha, expecting him to lash out, but when Johnny just shook his head and rolled his eyes, Jungwoo managed to relax a little. He trusted that Ten knew his alpha’s limits and wouldn’t push past them, after all they had come from a similar situation. However, it was still surprising to see an alpha as big as Johnny just laugh at Ten’s antics and not lash out, like he’d been taught they would. 

“Jungwoo!” Ten was suddenly by his side, wrapping him in a large hug, “I’ll see you soon don’t worry. And Kun is a great person, your doctor’s appointment will go swimmingly.”

And with that Ten and Johnny were closing the door behind them on their way out, leaving Jungwoo and Lucas alone.

“So,” Lucas started awkwardly, “Do you want to do something?”

“Uhh,” Jungwoo didn’t know how to answer this question. Was there something he was supposed to say? What was required of him in this situation? “Um, we could clean?” Was that the right answer? It was one of the things the center taught him he would have to do when an alpha bought him. 

Lucas looked completely baffled by Jungwoo’s answer, apparently it wasn’t the right one. “Uh, I was thinking something along the lines of playing a game or watching a movie or something?”

“Oh, yeah we could watch a movie,” Jungwoo muttered. He had gotten yet another thing wrong, upset his alpha yet again. He was such a failure.

“Okay, great. Um, you sit down and I’ll pick out a movie? Do you want blankets or anything? Uh, I’ll grab blankets.” With that Lucas ran off and Jungwoo nervously sat down on the far side of the couch, the chair smelling too much like Lucas.

A few minutes later, Lucas reappeared, arms full of blankets. “Johnny and I washed these yesterday, so they shouldn’t smell like anything? Uh, I think this one is softest, here.” Lucas tossed Jungwoo a blanket that was admittedly quite soft. Jungwoo instantly buried his face into the plushy fabric and deeply breathed in the scent of laundry detergent, before rubbing his cheek on it so that it smelled like him.

While Jungwoo and his blanket were having their bonding session, Lucas started up  _ Finding Nemo _ and settled into his chair. 

  
  


Throughout most of the movie, Lucas ended up watching Jungwoo more than the screen. He just looked so cute cuddled up in his blanket, eyes wide as he watched the story line play out. Jungwoo was enraptured by every line the characters spoke, gasping whenever anything happened. 

All too soon, the movie was coming to an end and Jungwoo was stretching out his legs before standing up. But, once he was on his feet, he looked around, confused. He sat back down. The conflicted look on his face did not dissipate.

_ Oh _ , Lucas realized,  _ Jungwoo doesn’t know what he should be doing. _ He should clear that up, help give Jungwoo direction. “Uh, Jungwoo, you can take a shower or bath or whatever while I make lunch.”

Jungwoo simply nodded in response and slowly stood up before heading to the bathroom, shoulders curved in, his body partially hunched over as he walked. It was as if he was trying to hide his height, make himself seem smaller, more demure. The sight broke Lucas’s heart. He wished that he could just wrap Jungwoo up and tell him how amazing he was and how there was no need to be afraid of anything, that he was never going to hurt him. But he couldn’t. It would scare Jungwoo and that was the last thing Lucas needed.

So instead, Lucas just watched Jungwoo disappear around the corner before getting up himself to make them grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch.

  
  
  


Jungwoo could do this. He could take a shower. No problem. He’d be fine. He just had to ignore the fear bubbling up in his chest at just the very thought of showering, and the memories threatening to overcome him.

At the center there were no showers or baths, just the hose. The hose would cut through all of your defenses. It was hard, unforgiving. It took no prisoners. 

The handlers would aim the torturous device at the omegas, curled up in the corner, before turning it on full blast.There was no way to protect yourself from its reign. You got hit no matter what you tried to do; there was nowhere to run. 

Jungwoo remembered the feeling as the icy water cut through his clothes, soaking him through to the bone. The power of the stream would seek him out no matter where he was, how small he was trying to make himself. It never failed to leave him shivering, shaking, unable to get his body temperature back up. During the winter it was especially torturous. It would take days for him to stop shaking, hours to uncurl from his ball. The cold was never ending, invasive. Just the thought of it was enough to make Jungwoo shiver. 

 

But he wasn’t at the center anymore. There was no more hose, just a shower head that would spit out whatever temperature water Jungwoo wanted it to. He’d be fine. He could do this.

Gathering his wits, Jungwoo stepped into the shower and pulled the curtain closed behind him. He was no longer at the center, he’d be fine; there was no reason to be afraid.

With a deep breath, Jungwoo turned the knob and water began to stream out of the nozzle. 

He stepped into the spray. It was cold. It was cold. He couldn’t breathe. He was back in the center, trapped as cruel faces leered down upon him. His chest was tight, the walls were closing in on him. Everything was turning black. He couldn’t do this. He couldn’t do this.

Jungwoo fell down to the floor of the shower with a thump, unaware that by now the water had warmed up.

 

Lucas had just finished putting the cheese on the sandwiches when he heard a loud crash coming from the bathroom.

_ Jungwoo. _

The knife Lucas had been holding, clangd to the ground as he took off towards the bathroom, bursting through the door to find Jungwoo curled up in the shower, tears streaming down his face, whimpering. Lucas dropped to Jungwoo’s side. “Hey buddy, it’s okay, you’re okay.” Jungwoo didn’t respond, but instead flinched even further away from Lucas’s outreached hand. 

Lucas tried again, remembering what Johnny had said to him about what helped Ten the most. “Hey Jungwoo, you’re not in the center anymore, yeah? You’re here in my apartment in the shower. Can you feel the water? It’s warm right? And the tub is smooth and slick. It’s not your cell, you’re here with me. How about you focus on what you feel? Can you do that for me?”

Slowly, Jungwoo’s breathing began to slow and he opened his eyes, blinking rapidly as he took in his surroundings. His eyes fell upon Lucas and he visibly recoiled, “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to freak out. I’m sorry please don’t...I didn’t mean to…”

“Oh, no. I’m not mad or anything.” Lucas worked his best to keep his scent as calming as possible, even though Jungwoo’s words stirred anger in his chest directed towards the center for abusing their omegas so horribly that they expected everyone to lash out at them.

Jungwoo scrambled to his feet, almost slipping on the slick surface of the tub. “I’m sorry I’ll just finish washing up and then I can make lunch, just please...don’t…” he burst into tears.

“Jungwoo, I’m not going to-” Lucas reached out towards the smaller, eliciting Jungwoo to flinch away from Lucas’s hand and almost fall in the tub. Lucas quickly withdrew the offending apendange and took a step back. “No, hey, you’re good, you’re not in trouble, I’m not mad. Everything’s chill,” he spoke in a soft, soothing voice and slowly Jungwoo began to relax, his instincts reacting to the alpha’s calming voice and scent. Lucas felt a little bad for manipulating Jungwoo in this way, but the priority right now was getting him to calm down before he hurt himself.

“Here, how about you take a bath?” Lucas made sure to move slowly as he plugged up the drain and flipped the switch so that water was coming out of the bath faucet instead of the shower head. Unprompted, Jungwoo slid down into the water and began to pour shampoo into his hair, using more than what was strictly necessary, but Lucas didn’t mind as long as Jungwoo was happy.

“I’m going to finish up the sandwiches, will you be okay?”

Jungwoo just nodded in response, dragging his hand through the water. He seemed to be in a weird sort of floaty headspace right now, but it was better than him freaking out, so Lucas was glad as he stood up to finish making lunch.

Once Lucas was done in the kitchen, he returned back to the bathroom to find Jungwoo still sitting there blankly, soap suds still in his hair. 

“Hey buddy, is it okay if I touch you?”

Jungwoo didn’t respond. 

With a sigh, Lucas accepted that he wasn’t going to get an answer and just went for it, carefully filling a cup with water and pouring it over Jungwoo’s head, making sure not to get any in his eyes. They finished the rest of the bath like this, Jungwoo barely moving, and Lucas gently cleaning him off, trying his best to touch the omega as little as possible. 

Finally, Lucas was draining the bath, wrapping Jungwoo in a fluffy robe and sitting him down at the table. The rest of the day passed similarly, with Jungwoo moving mechanically at Lucas’s direction, seeing, but eyes never really focusing. Lucas just wished he knew a better way to help than just gently leading Jungwoo around the apartment.

  
  
  



	7. Chapter 7

A knock sounded on Jungwoo’s door, startling him out of his slumber. He looked up to see Lucas peeking his head around the door. “Oh good, you’re up. Kun will be over in like 20 minutes. He’s going to give you a quick checkup before he has to go to the office.” Lucas looked way too happy for 6:10 in the morning as proclaimed by the clock sitting by Jungwoo’s bed. However, Lucas said that he was supposed to get up. So, Jungwoo did just that, suppressing a groan as he stood up and stretched his muscles.

“Tired?” Lucas asked with a smile, “You’re not used to getting up early.” 

Jungwoo didn’t respond--he wasn’t sure how he was supposed to reply. Agree? Protest? A witty remark? Nothing seemed quite right.

However, silence didn’t seem to be the answer as Lucas’s face turned red at the awkward atmosphere and quickly backed out of the room, closing the door behind him after asking for Jungwoo to get dressed, then meet him in the kitchen for breakfast. 

That left Jungwoo alone in his room once more, the weak morning light streaming through his window, barely providing lightning for the dark room. Jungwoo switched on his lamp, wincing as the artificial light lit up the room. 

He still wasn’t quite used to bright lights as his room at the center was always sparsely lit by a single small window positioned too high for Jungwoo to see through unless he jumped. It was just another tactic employed by the center to make their omegas more helpless: not used to bright lights or even able to catch a glimpse of the outside world.

But Jungwoo was no longer in the center and should not dwell on the past. Instead, he needed to hurry up and get dressed like his alpha told him to. 

As Jungwoo peered into his closet, he realized he had no clue what he wanted to wear. There were so many pairs of clothes filling the small space--more clothes than Jungwoo had owned in years. He had no clue what Lucas wanted him to wear or even how to make the various shirts and pants match one another. It was a problem. What if Jungwoo picked the wrong clothes? What if they didn’t match? What if Lucas got mad? 

The thoughts made Jungwoo want to just collapse down onto the floor, but he knew he couldn’t, he’d already had a breakdown the day prior and Lucas was expecting him soon.

Gathering his strength, Jungwoo grabbed a pair of jeans and a shirt at random, forced them onto his lanky limbs, and walked out of his room before he chickened out. 

Lucas was already waiting for him in the kitchen, setting a glass of orange juice down onto the counter.

“I-uh, didn’t know what you liked so I put all of the cereals and milk on the table?”

“Oh, thanks,” Jungwoo muttered, sitting down and pouring milk into his cereal bowl.

“No!” Lucas suddenly yelled, “You don’t--”

Jungwoo startled and dropped the milk container, the white liquid pooling out all over the table. “I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to. Please--” Jungwoo was close to tears, frantically cleaning up the milk, trying to figure out what he did wrong. He thought he was supposed to pour his own cereal, but apparently he misinterpreted Lucas’s instructions and was now in trouble. 

Lucas reached out his arm towards Jungwoo in an attempt to calm him down, but the action had the opposite effect: instead of becoming calmer, Jungwoo flinched and scurried backwards, tripping in his hurry.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to,” the omega was muttering as he curled up, head buried in his hands.

“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to yell. It’s not your fault. I just...it’s just...you poured your milk first? And it surprised me? It’s kinda like a meme culture thing I guess? I mean not that you’d know that because you've been in the center for the past few years, but, yeah…”

Jungwoo cautiously looked up, tears streaking his cheeks, “So you’re not mad?”

“No, no of course not! You didn’t do anything wrong, I just forgot and overreacted. I’m sorry.”

“B-but what about the milk I spilled?” Surely Lucas would be mad about that. Even if Jungwoo did mistake Lucas’s intentions, he had still spilled milk all over and made a huge mess. No one wanted a clumsy, jumpy omega. Lucas would send him back to the center for sure. 

And when omegas went back to the center it was never good. Jungwoo had heard horror stories of how the handlers would handle those who had been ‘rejected’. They were considered ‘used’, ‘useless’. Those omegas never went to good homes, were never treated right. They were basically a free-for-all for everyone in the center. 

Just the thought of it made Jungwoo curl up even tighter and cry even harder. 

“No, no, please don’t cry, I don’t care about the milk.” Lucas was frantic at this point. He had really messed up and now had no clue how to get Jungwoo to calm down. “You know the saying ‘don’t cry over spilled milk’? Well, um, yeah, don’t? I guess?” What even was his point in saying that? He was such a mess.

“So, um, I guess I’ll just clean up the table now?” Internally, Lucas hit himself. Real smooth, he was now apparently dictating his every move? He really just hoped his brain would return by the time Kun came over. 

“So you can have the Cheerios? They’re really good. Uh, here, I’ll give you a bowl.” Lucas poured the circular cereal into the bowl and then added milk before handing the bowl over to Jungwoo who was still hunched over on the floor, back against the wall. 

“I hope you like those. They’re really good, and wow, I already said that. You know what? I’m just going to shut up now.” 

The corners of Jungwoo’s mouth ever so slightly curled upwards at Lucas’s awkwardness and the alpha considered that a success. 

Lucas grabbed the ten million boxes of cereal off of the table, tossing each one up and catching as he did so, maybe dropping a few in the process. But, he managed to get another small half smile out of Jungwoo so the Trix all over the floor was worth it. Lucas continued to clean up the table from breakfast in the most over exaggerated way possible, trying his best to see a full smile light up Jungwoo’s face. He never quite got there, but at least Jungwoo finished his Cheerios and got up from his place on the floor. 

Just as Jungwoo was putting his dishes in the sink despite Lucas’s protests that he didn’t need too, the doorbell rang. The loud noise made Jungwoo jump and drop his bowl into the sink with a small clatter and set Lucas sprinting towards the door. 

“Kun! What’s up?” Lucas and the man at the door embraced. 

“Not much, but I heard that there was someone here who needed a quick checkup?” Kun peered around Lucas, smiling when his eyes fell on Jungwoo. “Hey buddy, how are you doing?”

“Good,” Jungwoo muttered, backing into the kitchen counter, away from the strange beta man. 

“I’m glad to hear that.” Kun walked into the apartment and set his bag on the table, pulling various instruments out of it. “So how long were you in the center?” 

“Four years,” 

“Cool, you know I deal with a lot of omegas from centers so I promise I’ll take good care of you.”

Jungwoo didn’t reply, just eyed Kun skeptically. Doctors came to the center. They poked and prodded and invaded and hurt. Doctors weren’t nice or caring, they took advantage of you, the handlers would hold them down as the doctor came around to give them shots. Sometimes the shots made Jungwoo feel woozy and weird and he couldn’t remember what happened afterwards. Those were always the worst times.

But Ten had said Kun was nice, was one of the good guys. He had told Jungwoo to trust the older, that Kun wasn’t going to hurt him like the doctors at the center, he was different. And Ten was usually right about such things, so Jungwoo cautiously approached the table and sat down in a chair. 

Kun grabbed a tape measure out of his bag. “First I’m going to measure your height and weight.” He motioned for Jungwoo to stand so he could take his measurements, Lucas having to help Kun get an accurate height measurement. Then, a scale was brought out from the bathroom and Kun jotted down his weight. “It’s low, but we all knew that already. He should be fine if you make sure he’s eating well every day. Try your best to weigh him every week to make sure he’s steadily gaining weight. There shouldn’t be too much of a problem there, but if there is please call me.”

Lucas nodded his understanding and Kun moved on, grabbing a stethoscope out of his bag. Kun was careful to keep his hands where Jungwoo could see them at all times and tell him exactly what he was doing. It helped Jungwoo feel a little better about the checkup. Kun explained all of his movements, all of his instruments, what they looked for, what the results were.

Everything was going great until Kun pulled a small hammer out of his bag and told Jungwoo he was going to test his reflexes.

Jungwoo was not a fan of that idea. He’d rather that hammer came nowhere near his body, especially his joints. Being hit with objects always meant more pain--everyone knew that. In the center when the handlers were in a particularly bad mood, Jungwoo would be hit with belts or shoes or even a crutch. Those always left the biggest welts that wouldn’t heal for days. Sometimes Jungwoo wouldn’t be able to stand afterwards. He would just curl up in a ball, trying his best to nurse his wounds and avoid the wrath of the handlers when he couldn't scurry away from the door fast enough for meal times. 

So when Kun brought the little hammer close to Jungwoo’s knee, he burst into tears. “No, no please, please, I didn’t do anything, please.” Jungwoo was gasping for breath, hands fisted in his hair, eyes screwed shut, whole body shaking. 

“Hey, Jungwoo, it’s okay. Kun’s not going to hurt you, I promise,” but Jungwoo didn’t respond to Lucas’s comforting words, just delving even deeper into his memories, his nightmares. 

“Hey, Jungwoo, could you count to ten for me?” 

Jungwoo didn’t respond.

Kun turned towards Lucas, “What do you usually do when he gets like this?”

“I don’t know,” Lucas ran a hand through his hair, “Last time he calmed down when I talked to him, but that’s not working--wait, the blanket.” Lucas suddenly sprinted down the hallway into Jungwoo’s room and emerged with his blanket in hand. He draped the soft cloth over Jungwoo’s shoulders and the response was immediate. Jungwoo, buried his face into the fabric, body slowly relaxing, crying turning into small sniffles. 

“So we won’t be checking out your reflexes today,” Kun stated, easily moving on with the checkup as if nothing happened. 

Jungwoo stayed with the blanket wrapped around his shoulders, but followed all of Kun’s directions as his joints and bones were tested to see if there was any lasting damage from the handlers abuse. Luckily there wasn’t and Kun left soon after giving Jungwoo the clean bill of health. 

“You know at least he didn’t hit me like Ten or run away like Sicheng,” Kun said with a smile, embracing Lucas on his way out the door.

“Yeah,” Lucas responded, “Sicheng is actually coming over today.”

“Really? What did Yuta bribe him with to get him out of the house?”

“Not my business, but my intel tells me it was a cat stuffed animal.”

They both laughed and hugged one more time before Kun exited the door with a small wave to Jungwoo.

Once the door was firmly shut and locked, Jungwoo turned to Lucas, “Sicheng? I’ve heard that name before.”

“Yeah, he’s another omega from the center like you. He doesn’t like to leave the house much, so I didn’t want to tell you until I was sure he was coming over. But, he’s really nice, you’re sure to like him.”

Jungwoo quitely nodded and went back to burying his face in his blanket, glad that Kun was finally gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, my next work is going to be a soulmate au where the main character is aroace, but I just wanted to hear your guy's favorite type of soulmate au. I was thinking of doing the drawing one, but I'm still not sure yet. Also if you have any other ideas or favorite tropes, please share those too!! Everything helps!


	8. Chapter 8

A little while later, a knock sounded on the door. Jungwoo didn’t lift his head at the sound, just stayed laying face down on the couch. He didn’t care who was there, he just wanted to be left alone. However, when the familiar smell of another omega reached Jungwoo’s nose, he couldn’t help but lift his head out of curiosity. 

Standing at the entrance to the apartment was a relaxed alpha who embraced Lucas as soon as the door was opened and an anxious omega who was hanging back, nervously twisting his hands together.

“Yuta, Sicheng, what’s up?” Lucas said once he broke off his hug with the alpha.

“Oh, you know, same old, same old.” the alpha, Yuta, replied with a bright smile, “But I heard you have someone else living with you now?”

“Ah, yes. Yuta, Sicheng, meet Jungwoo. Kun just came over to give him a checkup so he’s lying face down on the couch, but he’ll definitely be excited to see you, Sicheng.”

The omega--Sicheng-- just nodded shyly in response and continued to twist his hands together in anxious knots, not making any move to head towards Jungwoo.

The lack of movement made Jungwoo’s stomach twist unplesantly. Did Sicheng not like him? Was that why he wasn’t coming over to say hi? Had Jungwoo done something wrong? He must’ve. Ten and Taeil had run right over to him and they immediately started cuddling. Maybe his height had scared Sicheng; he was too tall for an omega, a disgrace.

Tears started to leak out of the corners of Jungwoo’s eyes at the thought of Sicheng’s obvious rejection. It hurt that another omega didn’t want to see him, that he scared even Sicheng.

At the sight of Jungwoo’s tears and rising scent of distress, Sicheng began to fiddle with his hands even more and even started to step towards Jungwoo before stopping himself and looking towards the ground.

“Sicheng, go to him. You don’t need my permission.”

At the sound of Yuta’s words, Sicheng ran over to Jungwoo and wrapped the crying younger boy in his arms, releasing as many comforting pheromones as he could, trying his best to calm Jungwoo down. He even began to coo and hum as he pulled Jungwoo even closer to his body--sounds that were usually reserved for a mother trying to calm her distressed pup.

Eventually Jungwoo got the message that he wasn’t being rejected by Sicheng and his sobs began to soften and he nuzzled his nose into Sicheng’s neck, scent marking the other. Sicheng just responded by hugging Jungwoo even tighter to his body. 

Yuta and Lucas were floored by the sight in front of them--Sicheng was treating Jungwoo like his pup even though the other omega was only a few years younger.

“Wow,” Lucas exhaled.

“Yeah, Sicheng wasn’t even like that with Ten and Taeil,” Yuta marvelled. “I wonder what it means.”

“We’ll have to ask Taeil--he knows everything omega.”

“I’m going to call him right now.” Yuta fished his phone out of his pocket and fumbled with that edevice for a minute before finally managing to click on Taeil’s contact.

“Yuta I swear to God, if this is another question about how to turn on a kitchen appliance… trust me, you’re just not made out to be a chef. I know you want to impress Sicheng and all that, but seriously, can’t you find some other way?”

“No Taeil, it’s not about that. I’m at Lucas’s house and Jungwoo and Sicheng are acting really weirdly? Jungwoo started crying then Sicheng ran over to comfort him and is now cooing like a mother to her pup?”

A heavy sigh sounded from the other end of the phone. “You guys are absolute idiots. I don’t even know why I answer your calls anymore. Sicheng is acting like that simply because that’s how omegas calm each other down? Especially when both parties have been locked away for so long and their instincts weren’t properly developed. It’s literally so normal and you two are complete idiots. Why do you feel the need to call me about everything? Now I’m going to go take a nap because I get tired just talking to you.” There was a click as Taeil hung up.

“Oh,” Yuta sighed, turning towards Lucas, “I’m glad everything is normal.”

“Yeah, me too,” Lucas replied, “but, kitchen appliances? You press ‘start’?”

“It’s really not that simple.”

 

While the alphas debated the simplicity of cooking, Sicheng and Jungwoo moved their cuddling to Jungwoo’s room where it was more comfortable. Once inside, they instantly went to work, stripping the bed of all the sheets and collecting all the blankets they could find. Jungwoo even went as far as to grab clean towels out of the linen closet to add to the growing pile on the floor. 

As soon as Jungwoo and Sicheng deemed that they had enough blankets and towels, they got to work, actions led almost entirely by instincts. 

By the time they were done, a well constructed nest was sitting in the corner and Sicheng and Jungwoo were curled around each other inside of it.

“It’s my first time ever making a nest, I was locked up ever since I presented” Jungwoo muttered into Sicheng’s neck.

“Me too,” the older omega replied.

“Wait, how does that work in China?” Jungwoo partially sat up to look at Sicheng’s face. “With omegas and stuff?”

“It’s similar to here, but we at least get to talk to other omegas through the bars of our cages.”

“Oh, that seems nice. How did you end up here?”

“I was chosen to go on a show tour to other countries because I was one of the prettier ones and people like ‘exotic’ omegas. Our first stop was here in Seoul and Yuta saw me and decided to get me. Apparently I looked too sad in the cage or something. I’m still trying to figure him out, he’s...different, too nice, seems to care or something.”

“Lucas is like that too,” Jungwoo shifted so his head was buried in Sicheng’s chest. “I guess we’ll figure it out eventually.”

“Yeah,” Sicheng’s hand began to stroke Jungwoo’s hair and the younger quickly drifted off into a comfortable sleep. Sicheng stayed awake, though. He didn’t trust the alphas in the next room enough to leave both him and Jungwoo completely defenseless and unaware. Yuta seemed nice enough, but he didn’t know Lucas, and alphas sometimes changed when they were together, felt like they had to prove themselves to one another. It was too dangerous to fall asleep, especially with Jungwoo trusting him so completely. 

So instead Sicheng stayed awake, vigilant, wondering how he was going to keep Jungwoo safe forever. At some point Yuta was going to want to go back to his own house and probably take Sicheng with him. That meant no more cuddling with Jungwoo. No more being able to keep the younger omega safe.

Jungwoo seemed so scared, so wary around Lucas, so clingy to Sicheng. There was no way Sicheng was going to be able to leave the younger all by himself. Especially without another omega. Jungwoo needed someone. He had spent too many years all by himself at the center; it simply wasn’t in an omega’s biology to be alone for so long. Jungwoo needed another omega. And Sicheng wasn’t going to leave him alone.

 

\----------------------------------------------

 

“So how are things going with you and Jungwoo?” Yuta asked Lucas after the omegas ran off together.

“He’s great, but sometimes I feel as if I’m just making things worse. Like I can never seem to properly calm him down, and sometimes it feels as if I’m just making everything worse.” Lucan ran a hand through his hair, leaning against the counter.

“Ah, I feel you there. Honestly, Sicheng only recently stopped flinching at every move I make. Just give Jungwoo time and show him plenty of love and care. You’re a great person, Lucas, Jungwoo will see that soon,” Yuta patted Lucas reassuringly on the back. “Let’s go sit down and I can give you some tips.”

 

After a few hours, Yuta stood up from where he had been seated on the couch and stretched, leaning backwards and lifting his arms over his head. With a groan, his back popped and he returned to his normal posture, checking his watch. “Ah, it’s probably time for Sicheng and I to head home. I have to go out to dinner with some potential customers for work tonight and I want to make sure I have plenty of time to get ready and make sure Sicheng is going to be okay without me for part of the night.”

“Of course, I’m sorry to keep you too long.” Lucas also rose to his feet and started to take a step before stopping, foot still in midair. “Wait, how long was it before you went back to work?”

“Uh, like a week or so, but I still frequently took days off. Honestly I would recommend doing whatever you can get away with. But, I’m sure Ten, Taeil, or Sicheng would love to come over and hang out with Jungwoo if needed.”

Lucas nodded thoughtfully--Ten would not miss an opportunity to go out with Jungwoo, last time they could barely get him to leave.

Stopping in front of Jungwoo’s room, Lucas raised his fist and gave the door three soft knocks. There was no answer. He tried again, knocking a little harder this time. “Sicheng? Jungwoo?”

That elicited a response from the two omegas, rustling could be heard on the other side of the door before it slowly creaked open, revealing an alert Sicheng, posture tall and defensive, with a half-asleep Jungwoo standing behind him, hair mussed and sticking up in all different directions. 

“Sicheng? You ready to go home?” Yuta beckoned Sicheng forward with his hand.

At the action Jungwoo flinched, taking cover behind Sicheng’s body, face buried in the older’s shirt. Sicheng’s postured straightened even more and he squared his shoulders, “I’m not leaving.”

The sudden declaration made Jungwoo fist his hands even tighter into Sicheng’s shirt and Yuta and Lucas blinked in surprise. “You-you’re not leaving?”

“No, I’m staying here with Jungwoo.”

At this point Jungwoo could barely be seen over Sicheng’s body, despite his taller frame. The younger had completely glued himself to Sicheng’s back and was shaking in fear of the repercussions the older would face for his actions.

Lucas and Yuta looked completely floored. “I mean we could stay a couple more minutes I guess, but I have a dinner I have to go to.”

“I’m not leaving.”

“At all?” 

“I’m staying here.”

Yuta  just stared at Sicheng in disbelief, never had he seen the omega so bold. Sicheng usually just flitted around the house, ducking his head, folding in his shoulders, taking up the least amount of space possible. But this was a completely different side to him. Sicheng was standing there confidently denying an alpha, stating what  _ he  _ wanted to do. There was no way Yuta could say no. “Well, if it’s okay with Lucas, you could stay over.”

“Yeah, yeah, he can stay over. I’ll just have to figure something out for dinner.” Lucas ran a hand through his hair. Jungwoo violently flinched back at the action and Sicheng put out his arm as if he was guarding Jungwoo from danger. It became very clear to the alphas that Sicheng was not moving.

“Well, uh, I’m going to get going now. I hope you have fun with your sleepover, Sicheng.” Yuta turned and walked away, hauling a gaping Lucas along with him.

Once they were safely away from where the omegas could hear them, both alphas let out sighs of disbelief.

“What do we do now?” Lucas asked, running a hand through his hair once more, making it stick out all over.

“I’m not sure...I guess I go to my work meeting and you watch over them and we’ll call Taeil later tonight?”

“Yeah, I guess. Taeil is really going to hate us after all this.”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

As soon as the alphas turned to walk away, Sicheng closed the door and sunk to the ground, breathing hard. What had he just done? Defying his alpha? Unheard of. What had overcome him in that moment?

Sicheng had just wanted to keep Jungwoo safe. And the other was clearly terrified by himself, flinching at every move Lucas and Yuta made. He couldn’t just abandon a fellow omega in distress, his instincts wouldn’t allow him.

So he had done the unthinkable: stood up to alphas. And nothing bad had happened. They hadn’t lashed out in anger, hadn’t hit him, hadn’t threatened him, had just accepted it. It was everything Yuta had been promising him over the past month: understanding, compassion, patience, forgiveness. Things that Sicheng hadn’t believed could exist. Until now. Maybe the alphas weren’t horrible, maybe these ones were different.

But for now, it didn’t matter. He had Jungwoo upset and curled up in his lap, clearly needing comfort. Sicheng could think on this more later when his friend wasn’t making the whole room smell like distress.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the inconsistent updates, my mental illnesses haven't been great lately, but I promise I will be able to stick to more of a schedule in like September lol


	9. Chapter 9

It was 9:00 at night by the time the alphas got around to calling Taeil. Yuta’s meeting had gone well despite the fact that the entire time he was stressing about Sicheng. Somehow he was still able to function when every second his brain was replaying Sicheng’s defiant face as he protected Jungwoo. All of Yuta’s instincts were screaming at hm to go back to his omega, compliment him on being such a good protector of the household, comfort him, and make him feel less defensive. However, Yuta was stuck in a stiff suit exchanging smiles and small talk with potential customers. It was torturous.

By the time Yuta finally made it back to Lucas’s apartment, the taller alpha was standing in the kitchen staring at the large plate of food in his hands.

“I don’t want to disturb them,” Lucas said, looking up as Yuta entered. 

“Here, let me.” Yuta carefully grabbed the plate from Lucas’s hands and knocked on the door of Jungwoo’s room. “Hey guys, I have food. I’m just going to leave it on the floor outside, okay?”

There was no response--exactly what Yuta had expected. But as he walked away, he heard the door creak open and the plate gently scratch against the tile as it was picked up.

When he returned back to the kitchen, Lucas was staring at him in open mouthed disbelief. “You’re so smart. I never thought about that!”

“This ain’t my first rodeo. When Sicheng first came to my house all he did was hide in his room. He absolutely refused to come out.”

“Oh,”

The pair settled down on the couch.

“Okay, so it’s your turn to call Taeil because I did it last time.” Yuta stretched out on the couch, a sly smile on his face as Lucas rolled his eyes at the older and clicked on Taeil’s contact in his phone.

The phone held up to Lucas’s ear rang for a total of six times before Taeil’s voice filtered through the speaker: “Hello, I’m not able to come to the phone right now so please leave a message as long as it’s not stupid--I do hold grudges.”

Lucas sighed and hung up, not sure what qualified as a stupid voice mail and didn’t want to risk it.

“So, Taeyong next.” Yuta didn’t miss a beat in picking up his phone and dialing Taeyong’s number.

He answered on the second ring, “What’s going on?”

“Can we talk to Taeil? We have an omega situation.”

Taeyong audibly sighed, “I’m pretty sure he’s ignoring you on purpose. I was told not to bother him with any of your problems, that you two could figure it out on your own.”

“Please,” Lucas whined, “they won’t come out of Jungwoo’s room and Sicheng even stood up to Yuta. We need heeeelp.”

An indistinct conversation occurred on the other side of the phone before Taeil’s voice finally came on: “I swear to god this better actually be serious.”

Yuta explained the situation.

“Yeah, okay, so that sounds like a you problem and have fun figuring it out on your own. I believe in you.” And with that Taeil hung up.

“Well I’m glad  _ he’s  _ such a great friend,” Yuta muttered.

“Yeah, I don’t think he likes us very much, but we can always try Ten.”

“Go ahead,” Yuta waved a hand at Lucas. “He’s more likely to answer you anyways. I think I somehow managed to piss him off last time we talked.”

Lucas snorted, “I’m not surprised.”

 

Johnny luckily answered his phone on the second ring and Ten was on the other side in in a matter of seconds when Lucas mentioned they had a problem.

“What’s wrong with Jungwoo? Do I need to come over?”

“Uh, well, I don't know...I mean Sicheng and Yuta are also over,”

“Oh...I guess I’ll hear the problem first.” There was the sound of something thumping to the floor--probably shoes--as Ten spoke reluctantly. Lucas made a mental note to ask Yuta what the hell had gone down between him and Ten.

“So like Sicheng and Jungwoo locked themselves in Jungwoo’s room and won’t come out? Like Sicheng even stood up to Yuta when he said it was time to go home.”

Ten sighed. “Lucas please tell me how this is a 9:30 at night problem? Like literally let them be for the night and if there’s still a problem I’ll come over in the morning. I swear to god, alphas are so stupid and overprotective.”

There was a click on the other end of the receiver as Ten hung up on them.

“So, I guess we’re having a sleepover then?”

 

\-------------------------------------------------------

 

Jungwoo woke up feeling safe. It was a feeling he hadn't experienced since before he presented as an omega and his life turned upside down. But now, curled up in Sicheng’s arms, Jungwoo wasn’t wary, wasn’t scared. He felt at peace; his insides were warm and fuzzy like his organs had been wrapped in a fluffy blanket; his heart was oozing with love and happiness, spilling out into the room. Every scent in the air was unadulterated, calm omega.

“Are you awake?”

Sicheng’s deep voice sounded in Jungwoo’s ear, making him smile to himself. “Yeah, I’m up.”

“Good.” Sicheng shifted slightly away from Jungwoo, reaching for something outside of the nest. The slight loss of contact was enough to make Jungwoo’s heart to beat faster, heart rate speed up. However, Sicheng was back in a second. “Hey, it’s okay, I’m right here. I was just getting the dinner that the alphas made for us. I grabbed it while you were still asleep.”

Jungwoo’s head snapped up at the mention of food and eagerly dug into the food on the plate, stuffing rice and beef into his mouth.

However once Jungwoo’s hunger was satisfied, Sicheng’s words sunk into his brain. Fear lit up his veins. “Are the alphas mad at us?” His voice was meek, scared of the consequences of their actions last night.

“Oh honey,” Sicheng pulled Jungwoo into a hug, “They made us breakfast and didn't even try to come into the room, they understand.”

Jungwoo was puzzled by Sicheng’s words, just yesterday he was small, hiding in Yuta’s shadow. Now, he was confident that the alphas actually cared. Sicheng was becoming his own person like Ten and Taeil were. He hoped that he could be like that one day too.

“How-how are you so confident? It could be a trick.”

“It’s not,” Sicheng said with 100 percent certainty. “I can feel it in my bones. They’re being truthful. Plus, what alpha makes food for their omegas and then just leaves it at the door?”

Jungwoo had to admit that Sicheng was right. Lucas and Yuta didn’t behave like the alphas they were told about at the center. They didn’t demand anything, didn’t scream and yell, were patient, looked at them with care in their eyes. But, it could still be a trick. They could be pretending, waiting until Jungwoo was comfortable to pounce, to show their real selves. It could be some sort of twisted, perverted game. Maybe alphas like that sort of thing.

Nevertheless, Jungwoo vowed to be careful. He couldn’t afford to have his trust broken yet again.

 

Sicheng looked down at Jungwoo. The younger was twisting his hands together, plate discarded. He was clearly still distressed and Sicheng didn’t blame him. It took more than a couple of days to get over years of mental conditioning and abuse. 

He himself was still struggling with the fact that he had stood up to, talked back to alphas. And nothing bad happened. In fact, just the opposite: they caved. Lucas and Yuta had just come up with a solution that respected Sicheng’s decision no matter how spontaneous. But  there was still an uneasy feeling in Sicheng’s stomach. The alphas could be lying, pretending, trying to trap the omegas. Maybe at night when he and Jungwoo were asleep Lucs and Yuta would burst into the room, scream at them, hit them. Sicheng remembered an omega at the center that was similarly tricked: he had refused to leave his cell when instructed. The handler simply walked away without putting up too much of a fight. However, later that night a group of alphas had swarmed the cell. Sicheng still remembered the screams. He had never seen that omega again. 

Sicheng shivered at the memory causing Jungwoo to look up at him in worry. “It’s okay, just a bad memory,” Sicheng reassured him. 

Jungwoo responded by wrapping his arms around Sicheng’s slim frame and pulling him close. Sicheng felt Jungwoo’s tears forming a wet spot on his shirt. “Will we be okay?”

“Yes. I will protect you. I promise no alpha is going to even come close to you.” At that moment, Sicheng felt a wave of strength flush through him. He was going to do whatever it took to keep Jungwoo safe, no matter what. He would even stay up all night if that's what it took to make sure Jungwoo would feel safe and no one would invade their room during the night.

Eventually, Sicheng felt Jungwoo slump against him, relaxed, asleep. The younger’s breaths were even and face peaceful as night overtook him. 

Sicheng carefully shifted Jungwoo to a more comfortable position so that his neck wasn’t at a weird angle, but still kept the younger flush against his body. Sicheng would never admit it, but he needed the contact and comfort just as much as Jungwoo did. Sure, Ten and Taeil did come over at times, but it wasn’t the same level of comfort as having someone younger to care for. Everything about Jungwoo called to Sicheng’s instincts, made every inch of his body scream to protect and care for the younger. 

Maybe this was what it felt like to be a mother. If so, Sicheng finally understood why all the omegas in the center cried and mourned for days when their babies were taken from them, cherished their young ones even if they cried every hour of the night and sucked away their mother’s strength. The sacredness of having a little one to take care of trumped everything else in the world. 

Sicheng reached down to stroke Jungwoo’s hair, letting the soft locks card through his fingers. The action was relaxing and Sicheng decided to curl up next to Jungwoo, angling his body so that he was between him and the door. This was about to be a long night.

 

\-------------------------------------------

 

Ten and Johnny arrived at 10 the next morning much to the chargain of the alphas who had been up since 7 trying to come up with ways to coax the omegas out of the room without breaking their trust. None of their plans even came close to being implemented. In fact, the most they did was make breakfast and leave it at the door, sliding a note underneath announcing its presence not wanting to knock and risk waking Jungwoo and Sicheng. So when a knock sounded at the door both alphas rushed to let Ten in.

Ten, however, was standing behind Johnny, using the taller as a shield. Yuta instantly took several steps backwards, holding out his hands as if to say he intended no harm. Lucas was bewildered. What on earth would cause Ten to have that reaction? Even though he was still shy around alphas from his time at the center, Ten was usually much better. Especially with Johnny’s friends. 

Johnny quickly took charge of the situation, being the voice of reason and peacekeeper that he always was.

“Ten, why don’t we go see how Jungwoo and Sicheng are doing, huh? I bet you could help them out.”

 Johnny guided Ten to door of Jungwoo’s room before leaving as to not scare Jungwoo and Sicheng by his imposing presence. Once Johnny was safely out of the way, there was the sound of Ten’s soft knock and the door opening to let him inside. The alphas all exhaled a sigh of relief at the sound, hopeful that Ten could help the other two out.

“So,” Lucas turned to face Yuta, “What on earth happened between you and Ten?”

Yuta flinched and sunk deeper into is seat, fidgeting with his hands. “Well, um, you see…”

Lucas looked towards Johnny for the answer as Yuta trailed off, his face blushing a deep red. However, Johnny just shrugged and nodded towards Yuta as if to say, ‘Listen to him, it’s not my story to tell.’

With a deep exhale then inhale, Yuta started his story: “Okay, well, you see, I was only really used to omegas like Taeil who were used to alphas and stuff because like in Japan omegas aren’t treated quite as bad as here. So I just like expected Ten to be like that. But he wasn’t. So the first time he came over I didn’t really like pay attention to his body language or anything before I rushed at him and wrapped him in a hug.”

 Yuta winced as if the story was causing him physical pain. “He just kinda like went limp in my arms and like I didn’t really notice at first and when I did, I jumped away from him and he just kinda like crumpled into a ball on the floor crying. It took a lot of coaxing from Johnny to finally get him to stop crying and like back to a functioning level. This was before we learned that it was best to call Taeil for things like that. I, of course, felt horrible and apologized profusely to Ten the next time I saw him, but understandably, Ten hasn't liked me since.”

“Yeah that would do it. But I mean, it was an honest mistake.” Lucas said

“It doesn’t change that Ten hates me now.”

“I mean, he’ll come around eventually; plus, it’s not like Johnny harbors any hard feelings towards you.”

“I guess so…”

“I don’t.” Johnny chimed in, “I mean you just didn’t know any better. And don’t worry, Ten will definitely come around eventually. He’s already come so far, but it’s just gotta be small steps at a time, ya know?”

Yuta nodded, but still looked miserable.

“Here, let’s go watch a movie.” Lucas swung his arm around Yuta’s shoulders, guiding him to sit down on the couch. “This’ll take your mind off of things.”

 

\-----------------------------------------

 

When Jungwoo heard Ten’s voice on the other side of the door, he eagerly got up from his nest to greet him at the door, Sicheng following close behind. Ten was instantly pulled into the room and the nest, seamlessly joining the cuddle pile.

“Wow guys, this nest is  _ gorgeous _ .”

The compliment made both Sicheng and Jungwoo preen, a warmth blossoming in Jungwoo’s heart at the words. Ten wrapped his arms around the both of them and scented both Jungwoo and Sicheng. 

The new, comforting scent being added to the pile caused Jungwoo to feel like he was being wrapped in a fuzzy blanket. In response, he maneuvered himself so that his head was somehow miraculously buried in both Ten and Sicheng’s chests. It was the best feeling in the world and slowly Jungwoo felt his mind floating away from his body. It was as if his body just couldn’t take all of the happiness he was feeling and needed to extend itself into the ethereal plane.

Jungwoo wasn’t sure how much time passed until he felt himself return to his body to Ten gently rubbing his back and whispering his name.

He blinked several times and shook his head to clear the remaining fuzziness out. 

“Good, you’re back with us,” Ten said in a low voice that made Jungwoo want to somehow be even closer to Ten. The older just felt like home, familiar. Sicheng seemed to be having a similar response judging by the way his head was completely tucking into the crook of Ten’s neck, breathing steady and slow.

“So guys,” Ten started out, “you know that you can’t just, like, stay in here forever, right? You gotta go out sometime; Sicheng you do need to eventually go home.”

“No.”

“No?”

“No. I’m staying. Here. With Jungwoo. And you.” Sicheng looked straight into Ten’s eyes as he spoke, voice more certain than Ten had ever heard it.

“But you need food and water and it’s really hard for Lucas and Yuta to give you that right now,” Ten tried to reason.

“We got less in the center.”

“Okay, yes, but that’s not a good way to live it’s not healthy.”

“We’ll survive.”

“I mean yes you will, but it’ll be uncomfortable and it’s not good for you. You need to get out and go outside sometimes to be healthy and live a good life.” Ten looked Sicheng in the eye, trying to reason with him as gently as possible. “Plus, it’s not good for Jungwoo. See how skinny he is? He needs to be eating regularly and exercising so that he can gain weight and feel better. He’s really weak right now and needs special care that he can’t get in here all alone.”

Sicheng bit his lip and looked conflicted, “Jungwoo needs to go out to be better? So he doesn’t sleep all the time? And I can’t see all his bones?”

“Yeah, so that he can be healthy. We both want that, right? For Jungwoo?”

Sicheng nodded, “I guess I can go out. For Jungwoo. So that he can get better.”

Ten let a smile spread across his face. “That’s the right choice, Sicheng. It’ll be the best for both you and Jungwoo.”

Sicheng gave Ten a tentative smile back and started to move so that he could stand up, but was stopped by Jungwoo latching a hand on his arm.

“No, please don’t leave me. I-I can’t. Not a-alone.” Tears began to flow freely down Jungwoo’s cheeks and sobs racked his skinny frame.

Sicheng immediately stopped his movement. “No, Jungwoo. I’m never going to leave you. It’s okay. I’m right here. I promise.”

Sicheng and Jungwoo sunk down together, wrapped around one another. Ten sighed in defeat. This was going to be a lot harder than he thought.

“Hey, Jungwoo? Sicheng isn’t going to leave you and you’re still going to have this space all to yourself, but you just gotta leave this room to eat and shower and stuff. So that you can feel better.”

Jungwoo vehemently shook his head. “I’m not leaving.”

“But don’t you want to eat yummy food that’s actually warm and fresh? And watch movies?”

“I’m fine here. I have Sicheng.”

“Okay, but you can have Sicheng out there too.”

Jungwoo shook his head eyes going wide. “No I won’t. The alphas want him to leave. And we can’t say no the alphas.”

“But Sicheng already did and nothing bad happened.”

“No, the rules are different in this room, but out there they’re the same.”

“Okay, what if I get Lucas and Yuta to promise? And Sicheng can still be with you and everything.”

“I guess.” Jungwoo hid his face in Sicheng’s shoulder, a clear sign that he was done with the conversation.

Ten sighed. At least he had gotten somewhere. It was time to tell Lucas and Yuta the plan and hopefully get Sicheng and Jungwoo out of the room.

 

Ten got up and left the room, promising that he would be back, but he wasn’t supposed to leave. This was the safe room where everything was like a sunset, full of soft, warm colors. Outside was harsh and cold. Jungwoo didn’t understand why anyone would ever go out there. Now that he had discovered this whole new world with Sicheng he was never going to leave.

A while later, the door opened  and Jungwoo looked up to see Ten, Lucas, and Yuta standing in the doorway, Ten halfway inside the room body language relaxed and open while Lucas and Yuta were fidgeting--an action that was very unbecoming to alphas. Alphas were supposed to be confident. They were never nervous.

“We have a proposal,” Luas started out. “You guys come out of this room and you can have whatever food you want, whenever you want, and you can watch all the movies I have and you don’t have to separate until you’re ready.”

“And Lucas and I will stay as far away as you want and we won’t yell at you. It’s your choice. We promise.” Yuta chimed in. “We’ll leave you alone for now until you make your decision.” Then, true to their word, Lucas and Yuta left.

Jungwoo looked at the alphas warily. It sounded too good to be true. And an alpha’s promise meant absolutely nothing to him. At the center promises were broken all the time.

However, Sicheng had perked up at the proposal and Yuta’s words. “Let’s do it. Yuta never breaks a promise. And imagine how much better you’ll feel with all that good food.”

“Okay,” Jungwoo trusted Sicheng. He was brave, but made reasonable choices. Not only that, but he would protect Jungwoo at any cost.

Ten was practically beaming and Jungwoo and Sicheng linked hands and stepped through the doorway together.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this has like a bunch of typos or sounds weird or something, my life has kind been a mess lately lol. But school started like a week ago so like hopefully things will get better and I can get on a normal schedule once again.
> 
> Also, please leave comments telling me what you think! Comments give me life!!


	10. Chapter 10

Lucas practically fell over in shock when he saw Sicheng and Jungwoo step out of the room. He honestly had expected them to stay in there forever. Sure, Jungwoo was currently hidden behind Sicheng, eyes downcast, holding onto the older for dear life, but he was out. Ten was a magician. 

When Lucas finally looked up from his ogling, he realized that Yuta was in the kitchen and jumped up to join him, feet tangling up in one another in the process. “Shit,” Lucas cursed loudly as his body careened towards the floor. He fell hard, feet twisted up in one another not allowing enough time for him to reach out and save himself. As his shoulder hit the carpeted floor, it throbbed in pain. Lucas heard Jungwoo cry out in distress. Within seconds he was on his feet again, knees protesting at the speed he jumped up. But when Lucas turned around Jungwoo was gone. 

Johnny and Ten were by his side, though. Ten was was cursing him out for being so stupid and “who the heck even jumps up like that? What did you think was going to happen? Flight?” Johnny, on the other hand, was carefully checking Lucas for injuries. He truly was the dad of their friend group.

Sicheng was still standing in the hallway, looking stunned while Yuta was doubled over laughing in the kitchen. Lucas wasn’t sure if it was his or Yuta’s actions that confused Sicheng the most. It didn’t matter in the end because Sicheng after a few seconds of observing the scene, turned quickly on his heel and followed Jungwoo back into the room. So much for that.

“Dang it,” Lucas muttered, limping towards the kitchen, “I ruined it.”

“They’ll be back.” Johnny patted Lucas on the back reassuringly. “Now, let's work on breakfast.”

 

Lucas was mad. Lucas had fallen. Lucas had yelled, cursed. Loudly. 

Jungwoo had ruined everything. Lucs was mad at him. He was the reason Lucas fell, Lucas was just trying to help him, make food because that’s how needy Jungwoo was, always wanting more, too much. Lucas had fallen because of him, because of him and his excessive wants. Lucas wasn’t going to want him anymore. He was going to throw him out, discard him like a broken toy. Things were finally looking up and Jungwoo had to go around and ruin everything.

Jungwoo curled up in the nest, knees hugged to his chest, sobbing. Then Sicheng was there, rubbing his back, telling him that nothing was wrong, that it wasn’t his fault.

“I was there, Jungwoo, no one was mad, I promise. In fact, Yuta was laughing at Lucas. Ten didn’t even seem worried, instead he yelled at Lucas for scaring you, and Lucas even looked ashamed for it. Can you imagine that? An alpha ashamed because he scared an omega? Ten is right, they really don’t mean any harm.”

“But-but he yelled, really loud, he was angry.” Jungwoo buried his face even deeper into the covers, he trusted Sicheng, but the older wasn’t making any sense. How could it not be his fault? Lucas was clearly trying to do something for him when he fell. But, then again, everyone was berating Lucas for his mistake, not Jungwoo. 

Sicheng curled up next to Jungwoo so that they could lay face to face. “I know that the center told you that everything was your fault, but would you blame Lucas for something similar?”

“No-no. But he’s an alpha, he has the right to be mad.”

“Really? Has Lucas done any typical alpha things?”

Jungwoo looked down and fidgeted with the seam of his shirt. “No, but he could always change his mind. What if this is all a facade?”

Sicheng rubbed Jungwoo’s arm comfortingly, “Ten trusts him, though. And Ten definitely wouldn’t place his trust in someone who was a fake, right?”

“Right,” Jungwoo admitted. Ten was much too smart for that. He had gone through the same system as him and Sicheng, knew how dangerous alphas were, yet was still able to trust them, to be around them. Jungwoo wished that one day he could be as strong as Ten and Sicheng, be able to overcome all of his fears. 

“Okay, ready to go back out then?” Sicheng tugged Jungwoo up to his feet before he even had the time to properly react, but still didn’t protest when he was led into the hallway. 

Pots were clanging in the kitchen where the three alphas were at work. Johnny was directing the other two, Lucas partially capable, Yuta not at all. He truly was awful in the kitchen. When Jungwoo and Sicheng first saw him, Yuta had somehow managed to boil water over the edge of the pot and was frantically trying to clean up the mess without thinking of turning the heat down. Needless to say the whole situation was hopeless.

Ten looked up from his seat at the counter and beckoned Jungwoo and Sicheng to sit next to him. Johnny, noticing the movement, looked up and gave the two a subtle nod before returning to preparing lunch. 

Jungwoo slowly walked over, tightly clasping Sicheng’s hand, and sat down in between the two omegas, shifting his weight in the chair several times before Ten leaned over to whisper in his ear, “Doesn’t Yuta look absolutely ridiculous? He can’t even boil water for heaven’s sake. I used to be scared of him, but after seeing this mess, I can't even imagine why.”

Sicheng let out a peal of laughter at Ten’s words and Jungwoo even felt a smile tug at the corners of his lips.

“He has no idea how to work anything in the kitchen, I really have no idea how he survived before he got me,” Sicheng leaned over to whisper conspiratorially  to the others.

However, he must have been slightly too loud because Lucas was soon chiming in: “He literally only ate things that could be warmed up in the microwave. It was ridiculous.”

“Hey! It really wasn’t that bad!”

“It was,” Johnny confirmed with a small smile at Ten. “Now could you please get out of the kitchen before you break something?” Johnny gave Yuta a gentle shove and Yuta obliged, mumbling something about how unfair Johnny and Lucas were being, that he wasn't even that bad. 

Without Yuta there to make a mess of everything, Lucas and Johnny finished making lunch rather quickly and soon steaming plates were being set down on the table. Yuta even came out of sulking to eat the food; however, he claimed that the food tasted awful without his help--all while shoveling huge bites into his mouth as if he was starved. 

Jungwoo ate with less vigor than the others, it was unseemly for omegas to eat too much. He needed to stay in shape for his alpha. Sicheng quickly noticed what Jungwoo was doing, though, “You need to eat more than that. You have to eat to gain strength and be healthy.”

Jungwoo just shrugged in response, not planning to change his eating habits at all. That was until Lucas decided to chime in: “Jungwoo, can you please eat more? For me? I know you’re really hungry.”

With his alpha’s permission to eat as much as he wanted, Jungwoo began to shovel spoonful after spoonful into his mouth, not even stopping to breathe. The food just tasted so good. And it was  _ warm _ . Jungwoo hadn’t had warm food in forever. He had forgotten how amazing it was and just couldn’t help but try to consume the food on his plate as fast as possible. 

“Jungwoo,” Sicheng’s hand was on his shoulder, soft words catching his attention. “You can’t eat so fast buddy, you’ll make yourself sick. I know it’s really good, but you have to slow down. Believe me, becoming sick from overeating is no fun.”

Jungwoo nodded, his mouth full of food, and then began to eat at a slightly slower pace. However, his new eating speed was apparently still too fast because the next thing he knew, Ten was placing his hand on top of Jungwoo’s. “How about we take a small break so that you can actually chew your food.”

Oh. Now that Ten mentioned it, Jungwoo realized that he hadn’t really been chewing his food in his rush to eat. He looked up sheepishly and noticed that the alphas, as well, had stopped eating. 

“Sorry,” he muttered, ducking his head. 

“Don’t worry, you have nothing to be sorry about,” Johnny said in his deep voice, “Do you know how many times Ten threw up before he realized that he had to eat at a reasonable pace if he actually wanted to keep the food down?”

Ten let out a small laugh at Johnny’s words, “I guess it was pretty bad, huh?”

Jungwoo glanced between Ten and Johnny, slightly baffled at their banter. He would never get over the fact that Johnny joked around with Ten and made him laugh. It was the opposite of what he had been taught at the center, he had been told that such things were unnatural, but Ten and Johnny seemed perfectly comfortable joking around with one another. 

Jungwoo then felt a small tap on his shoulder and he turned to face Sicheng who was holding up him a reasonably sized spoonful of food for him. He ate the proffered bite and then continued to slowly consume small amounts of food as per Sicheng’s discretion, mimicking the older’s movements, eating when he did. 

Halfway through his bowl, an uncomfortable feeling developed in Jungwoo’s stomach: he was full. But all of his food wasn’t gone yet. He couldn’t waste food. At the center they were always punished if even a morsel of food was left on their plate, any food left meant that they weren’t grateful enough and didn’t want to eat anymore. But Jungwoo did want to keep on eating, wanted to be able to eat tomorrow. So, he slowly lifted the spoon he had set down back into his mouth. He chewed slowly, the food no longer tasting as good as it once did. He lifted the spoon up one more time, the broth slowly dripping off the noodles.

“Jungwoo,”

Jungwoo dropped his spoon in surprise, head snapping up, searching for who had just spoken.

“Jungwoo,” Yuta repeated, “you don’t have to eat anymore if you’re full.”

“But, the food will go to waste.”

“No it won’t. I’ll eat it.” Lucas reached over and grabbed Jungwoo’s bowl, dumping the food onto his own.

Ten burst into laughter at the surprised look on Jungwoo’s face. “Lucas has no manners, at least Johnny asks before he takes my food.”

Lucas looked up at Ten’s remark, cheeks stuffed full of noodles, “Jungwoo may I have your food?” only he was speaking with his mouth full so it sounded more like “Wunwoo mway I haff youw food?”

Yuta reached over and hit Lucas on the arm. “Could you behave like a normal person for once? Jungwoo, I apologize for Lucas’s lack of manners. He was truly raised in a barn.”

Jungwoo just sat there in stunned silence, not sure how he was supposed to react. None of this was taught at the center. To be honest, Jungwoo hadn’t even heard jokes or genuine laughter since before he had gone to the center, before he knew that he was an omega.

 He used to go out with his friends all the time, they would stay out late, play games, joke around like normal teenagers would. In fact that’s what they were doing the night that Jungwoo presented. Him, Mark, Xiaojun, and Donghyuck had gone out swimming as a last hurrah before summer ended. The water at the community pool was cool, made even more enjoyable by all of the splashing that was going on. The war had started when Mark had nailed Donghyuck directly in the face, prompting a returning splash from the younger. The next thing Jungwoo knew, he was inhaling a mouthful of water, Xiaojun practically falling over with laughter at Jungwoo’s expression. “You’re that surpr-” 

Xiaojun was cut off by the large wave of water that Jungwoo sent his way. Soon they were in an all out war, water flying across the pool, soaking everyone in its path. Jungwoo was reeling up to nail Mark with a big wave when suddenly Donghyuck pounced on his back, forcing Jungwoo beneath the water. They grappled with each other for a few minutes before Jungwoo gained the upper hand and shot to the surface for a much needed breath of air. 

Once above the water, Jungwoo couldn’t help but laugh at Xiaojun and Mark who were dueling it out, dramatically trying and failing to gain the upper hand against one another.

Soon, their games progressed to chicken fighting and then trying to outdo one another on the diving boards. Jungwoo had declared his backflip was the winner, but Donghyuck insisted his bellyflop was legendary.

Then, the lifeguards were blowing their whistles, signaling that the pool was closing. The boys grabbed their towels and began their walk home, still joking and laughing together. 

“Ooo, Jungwoo you’re going to be starting high school tomorrow. You’re going to meet so many cute guys,” Mark said suggestively. 

“Oh my gosh,” Donghyuck exclaimed, “there’s going to be people who have presented in high school.”

“You idiot, there’s people who have presented in  _ our _ school.”

“Yeah, but not a ton. In high school there’s going to be a  _ lot _ . Hey, Jungwoo, when do you think you’re going to present?”

“It has to be soon, he’s gotten so tall recently.”

“Oh shut up you two,” Xiaojun said hitting them with his towel. “You know Jungwoo hates thinking about presenting.”

“Oh right, well, did you guys see that new superhero movie that came out? Wasn’t it amazing?”

“The one I saw with you? Hell no!”

Jungwoo shot Xiaojun a grateful look as Mark and Donghyuck returned to their normal banter. 

The rest of the way home was full of playful hits and lusting over the cutest people in their grade. They departed with the promise to meet up at the corner the next morning so they could all walk Jungwoo to school. But Jungwoo never saw his friends again, he presented that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oof sorry this literally took like two months to update, I really don't have an excuse except for the non-existent college apps I've been doing lol
> 
> But in other good news the great @CallisaRose has been helping me to edit this thing so all of my chapters are now typo free and just make a lot more sense in general so big shout out to her bc she's amazing!!
> 
> Pls leave comments! They really help and I respond to all of them!!


	11. Chapter 11

“Jungwoo, are you okay?” Jungwoo came back to reality at the sound of Sicheng’s soft, worried voice.

Once Lucas saw Jungwoo was back to reality, he started talking: “I’m sorry if I upset you, Yuta and I were joking around and I wasn’t thinking about what I was saying or doing and--”

Jungwoo decided to cut Lucas off, “It’s not your fault. I was just caught up in memories,”

“Good or bad?” Johnny asked.

“Good, of times before the center.”

Ten let out a low whistle at that. “Those are always bittersweet. It reminds you of a time you can never go back to. A time when you had your family and friends and were in your hometown and had no worries. There were no leering eyes, no abuse, no imprisonment. We were free, blissful in our ignorance and innocence.”

Jungwoo looked down at his plate and fiddled with his chopsticks, swallowing back tears. Sicheng gently rubbed Jungwoo’s back and when Jungwoo looked over at the other omega, he saw a tear slowly make its way down Sicheng’s cheek.

Jungwoo wrapped his arms around Sicheng, squeezing tightly, wishing that they could all go back and have the childhood that was taken from them, be able to play with their friends, complete high school. But instead, they were locked up in cells, brainwashed, and isolated from the world. 

Another pair of arms wrapped around Jungwoo and Sicheng, Ten’s scent filling their noses. He, too, was crying. 

“It just sucks so much. I want to see my mom again, my dad, my sister, but I can’t. We don’t know where they are anymore, if they’re even still alive. And even if we did know where they were, would they even love me anymore? I’m so different now, no longer the sweet kid I once was.”

Jungwoo and Sicheng just squeezed tighter in response, Jungwoo thinking of his own family and how they had reacted when he presented:

 Jungwoo had just finished packing his bag, preparing himself for his first day of high school, when he felt the first cramp. The pain sent him doubling over, clutching his stomach, but it had only lasted a few seconds and Jungwoo didn’t think much of it, assuming that it was stress induced. He was about to attend a new school without his best friends for a year. But then again, he could always make new friends, right? Xiaojun seemed to think so at least. Haechan, on the other hand, had said that Jungwoo was going to be a lonely weirdo without them, but then again, Jungwoo was pretty sure that the younger was just jealous that Jungwoo was going to be going to school with “so many cute guys”. On his way to the bathroom, towel thrown over his shoulder, carefully arranged so the scratchy fabric didn't touch his skin, Jungwoo decided that he’d just trust Xiaojun’s judgement and believe in his ability to make new friends.

The next cramp hit when Jungwoo was brushing his teeth and practicing friend pick up lines in his head. He had just come up with the great one of ‘How much does a polar bear weigh? Yeah, I don’t know either. I just really need a friend.’ when pain began to build in his abdomen. His insides twisted and Jungwoo spit out his toothpaste all over the mirror, in complete agony. A few torturous moments later, the pain faded into a dull ache leaving Jungwoo doubled over, hands on knees, wondering what the hell he had ate to make him feel this way. Slowly, Jungwoo stood back up and groaned at the sight of toothpaste dripping down the mirror and collecting on the counter. He had a lot of cleaning up left to do.

Once the bathroom was finally clean, Jungwoo headed back to his room, shifting uncomfortably as his clothes suddenly felt like they were made out of sandpaper. Every brush of his shirt against his skin felt like agony. Jungwoo stripped off his shirt and slid under his covers, grateful for their smoothness. 

A few minutes later another cramp raced through Jungwoo’s body, and then another, and another. Over the next half hour the cramps began to come more often and built in intensity until Jungwoo found himself curled up under all the blankets he could find, moaning in pain. Jungwoo’s organs felt like they were tearing themselves apart and there was nothing he could do to rid his abdomen of the pain. Sweat was beading on his forehead and running into his eyes. He was so hot, but yet so cold at the same time. There was nothing he could do to be comfortable.

Jungwoo, in his naivety, had thought he was sick from stress or from going to the pool earlier that day with his friends, but the minute his mom walked into his room, she smelled the truth.

Now, both of Jungwoo’s parents and his sister were alphas and they prided themselves on this fact, boasted how strong their bloodline was. His dad was always talking about how he married another alpha because omegas were too weak, unable to do anything, only good for reproduction and household chores. 

So, when Jungwoo’s mom smelled her newly presented omega son, it was an understatement to say that she freaked out.

She had instantly called for his dad who took one whiff of Jungwoo before marching over to him and yanking his newly presented son out of his bed. Jungwoo’s cry of pain had been shut up with a sharp slap and he was dropped off at the nearest omega center within the next 15 minutes. 

Needless to say, Jungwoo had no desire to see his parents ever again. But his friends and sister who he had never gotten a chance to say goodbye to, that was another story. Everyday in the center Jungwoo found himself thinking of Xiaojun’s kindness, Mark’s teasing, and Donghyuck’s endless energy. Jungwoo wished he could see them again, but there was no guarantee that they still lived in Seoul or hadn’t presented as omegas themselves. 

 

“Jungwoo, Jungwoo.” Jungwoo looked up at Sicheng who was stroking his hair while quietly saying his name. “Hey buddy,” Sicheng mummered when he saw that Jungwoo was back in the real world and no longer in his head, “Do you want to go back to your room? I think you’ll feel better in the nest.”

Jungwoo nodded silently, that seemed like a great idea.

“Okay, let’s go then,” 

Sicheng tucked Jungwoo into his shoulder and led the younger to the nest, Ten walking on Jungwoo’s other side, muttering soft words of encouragement. Jungwoo loved it. The two other omegas made him feel so safe and protected that he never wanted to leave their sides, wanted to curl up between them for forever and ever. But apparently that wasn’t feasible, so Jungwoo just had to settle with cuddling as much as possible before the other two had to go home. 

Sicheng gently deposited Jungwoo in the nest and then started to stand back up, but a shot of fear ran through Jungwoo at the action. He clutched on even tighter to the older’s shirt, trying to keep him in the nest. “Please don’t leave me,” Jungwoo sobbed.

“Hey, don’t worry.” Sicheng leaned over to gently stroke Jungwoo’s hair, “I was just going to grab us an extra blanket.”

Jungwoo reluctantly released his grip on Sicheng’s shirt, but the other was back within a matter of seconds, blanket in hand.

Soon they were all curled up together, Jungwoo in the middle, completely content, happy to be surrounded by comforting scents and other omegas. Jungwoo felt like he was going to burst with how happy he was and his chest had a strange, but somehow good feeling bubbling out of it. His chest started to rumble and Jungwoo was shocked by the sound that was coming out of it. It’d never happened before. Was something wrong? Did he mess something up in some way? Would he have to go back to see Kun? He really didn’t like Kun.

But his fears were soon appeased by Ten suddenly squeezing him tighter, “Oh my gosh he’s purring Sicheng! It’s so cute!”

Sicheng also had a huge smile on his face and Jungwoo smelled his scent become sweeter and more content before a similar noise came from Sicheng’s chest.

Ten gasped at the sound, “You guys are so cute!” he exclaimed before he too began to purr.

“What is purring?” Jungwoo asked. It was apparently a good thing judging by everyone else's reactions, but he had never heard of it before and had never felt this strange feeling in his chest. It wasn’t a bad strange, it actually felt quite good. Jungwoo hadn’t felt this happy and pleased since before he presented. 

“Purring is your body’s way of showing it’s happy and comfortable. It only happens when an omega really trusts all the people around them, so it’s really special that you’re doing it now. It shows how much you trust Ten and I and even how much you feel safe in this room, even with alphas just down the hall.” 

“Oh, cool I’ve never done it before,”

Sicheng and Ten both had sad smiles on their face after Jungwoo’s last admission. 

“They don’t give you much reason to be happy in the center,” Sicheng quietly agreed.

“When was the first time you purred, Sicheng?” Ten asked trying to lift the mood, “Mine was with Taeil. He had just brought me some ice cream and I was so happy that he would do something so nice and caring for me that me chest just started rumbling. I had heard of it before, but had never experienced it myself. My mom and sister would purr all the time at home.”

“Mine was when I was still in China, before I came to Korea. Since there we were allowed to see other omegas we used to cuddle together at night and more often than not we would all end up purring before we fell asleep. In Korea, though, I think this was my first time.”

“I wish it wasn’t like this,” Jungwoo blurted out, “I wish that we could just stay with our families and weren’t considered so different from everyone else, you know?” he started to cry, “I just want to see my sister and friends again. I don’t even know if they’re omegas or alphas or betas because I presented first. One of them could be locked up in a center for all I know.”

Ten wrapped his arms around the taller omega, “I know how you feel, I have no clue where my family is, I have no way to contact them, but we just have to hope for the best and believe that they’re okay and that we’ll see them again, that’s the only way to get through the day. We just have to believe in the good in life, that somehow we’ll be able to find them or the other way around. It’s tough, but it’s what we have to do. Just remember that by surviving and being your own, strong, amazing person you’re proving those in the center wrong. You’re one upping them by just being yourself.”

“Thanks,” Jungwoo said, tears threatening to spill down his cheeks as he buried his head in Ten’s shoulder, focusing on not breaking into tears.

Moments later, Sicheng’s hand was on his back, quietly rubbing comforting circles.

The following silence was encompassing, but rich in love and comfort. Pressed in between Ten and Sicheng, Jungwoo drifted into a comfortable sleep.

 

\--------------------------------------------------------

Lucas watched the omegas retreat back into Jungwoo’s room, a sense of failure filling his body. “Did I do something wrong?” he wondered out loud.

“Were we too loud? Jungwoo got all spacey after we started teasing each other. He said it wasn’t our fault, but…” Yuta said, running his hand through his hair, face twisted with guilt.

“You guys were fine, don’t overthink it.” Johnny advised from where he was in the kitchen washing the dishes. “There are some things that you can’t control and that was one of them. Jungwoo was just remembering stuff that happened in the past, things that you have no control over. You can’t predict his every thought so don’t blame yourselves for such things and help me with these.” Johnny held up one of the plates he was washing, eyebrows raised as if to say that Lucas and Yuta better hurry up and help him out if they valued his friendship. 

“Yeah, but I still wish I could help,” Lucas muttered, stacking dirty plates to bring over to Johnny. 

“You are helping,” a hint of exasperation was creeping into Johnny’s voice. “You’re helping by just being a nice, calm alpha who doesn’t abuse their omega.”

“It’ll be okay.” Yuta clapped Lucas on the back. “It took forever before Sicheng would talk to me.”

“Ten used to attack me anytime I came near him.”

“Wait--Ten used to attack you? You’re like a foot taller than him!”

“Yeah, he’d leave bruises too the little devil.”

At that Lucas and Yuta burst into laughter. The mental image they had of tiny Ten attacking the giant that was Johnny was just too funny.

“Please tell me someone took a video,” Yuta managed to choke out in between laughs.

Johnny gently swatted him on the shoulder with the dish towel. “No one got a video. No one else even knew about this until you.”

“So Taeyong and Taeil don’t know?”

Johnny sighed, “Can we just do the dishes and forget I ever told you two that?”

“So they don’t know!” Yuta cackled dialing Taeyong’s number as fast as he could.

Johnny sighed in defeat, “I’m never going to hear the end of this. And just so you know, you guys have to finish washing these on your own.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the longish wait. There's just been a lot going on with college apps and kpop and stuff. 
> 
> But anyways, I hope you all are having fantastic days and please leave a comment!! They're really encouraging and help my motivation a lot!!

**Author's Note:**

> Shout out to the amazing @CallisaRose for helping me edit and keep these chapters typo free!!
> 
> Please tell me what you think and follow me on Instagram @intricate_6


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